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CATHOLIC  RELIGION 


CATHOLIC   RELIGION 

A  STATEMENT  OF  CHRISTIAN 
TEACHING  AND  HISTORY 


BY 

CHARLES  ALFRED  MARTIN 

MEMBER  OF  THE  CLEVELAND  APOfiTOLATB 

Author  of  •♦Cana,"  "Follow  Me,"  Etc. 


POPULAR    EDITION 


B.  HERDER  BOOK  CO. 
17  South  Broadway,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

AND 

68  Great  Russkli,  St.,  London,  W.  C. 
1919 


2JIHIL  0B8TAT 
Sii.  Ludovicif  die  26,  Junii,  1913 

F.  G.  Holweck, 
Censor  Librorum, 


IMPRIMATUR 

Sti,  Ludovici,  die  28.  Junii,  1913 

»{*  Joannes  J.  Glennon. 

Archiepiscopus 

Sti*  Ludovici 
^OAN  STACK 


Copyright,  1913, 

by 

Joseph  Oummersbach 


All  rights  reserved 
Made  in  U,  S,  A, 


/^3^ 


I1M 


INTRODUCTION 


The  story  is  told  of  the  late  Santicel  Stehman  TTalde- 
mafif  the  distinguished  naturalist  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania  and  founder  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  that  when  asked  hy  his  friends  what 
brought  him  to  the  threshold  of  the  church,  he  would 
reply: — '^Bugs!" 

Then  with  good  nature  he  answered  their  astonish- 
ment hy  explaining  that  even  the  smallest  insect  pre- 
served in  his  cabinets,  possessed  the  organism  neces- 
sary for  its  proper  actiinties.  Head  and  members  he 
always  found  working  together  as  one  body.  His 
science  thus  led  him  to  expect  that  if  a  church — as  the 
embodiment  of  religion,  were  really  part  of  the  divine 
plan,  and  so  had  its  place  in  the  world,  that  church 
would  be  equipped  by  the  common  Creator,  tvith  the 
organization  and  means  of  action  proper  to  it,  as 
carefully  at  least,  as  is  the  beetle  of  a  day.  What  his 
hypothesis  demanded,  Professor  Haldeman  believed 
he  found  realized  in  Catholic  Christianity. 

Men  are  commonly  enough  impressed  by  the  social 
organization  of  the  church.  A  society  of  almost  300 
millions  of  human  beings,  natives  of  every  race  and 
land,  speaking  a  hundred  different  languages  and 
dialects,  boiind  together  by  no  political  ties  or  material 
poiver  or  interests,  ** Greek  and  barbanan,  black  and 
white,  bond  and  free,"  a  human  Babel  otherwise, — 
yet  standing  as  a  unit  in  their  faith,  working  out  the 
same  philosophy  of  life  in  every  possible  condition 
of  society,  a  brotherhood  of  intellectual  conviction  and 

iii 


iv  INTRODUCTION 

'moral  determination,  the  hisJwps  reaching  every  lowly 
member  through  the  parish  priests  and  uniting  all 
through  their  union  ivith  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  the 
church  has  endured  for  1900  years,  an  institution 
unique  in  human  history. 

No  less  remarkable  than  the  external  solidarity  of 
the  church,  aiid  indeed  the  secret  of  it,  is  her  consist- 
ent and  coherent  system  of  teachings  and  practices. 
From  the  mighty  moral  principles  that  reach  down  to 
the  depths  of  human  nature,  to  the  symbolic  regalia 
of  her  holiday  pageants,  all  the  church's  doctrines  of 
faith  and  precepts  of  morals  and  forms  of^  worship  are 
related  to  a  few  great  truths,  and  are,  in  their  time 
and  place,  the  natural  and  proper  expression  of  those 
truths. 

Scientists  as  well  as  poets  have  come  to  catch  the 
music  of  the  spheres.  We  know  that  in  nature  noth' 
ing  is  without  meaning  or  out  of  place.  If  the  tiny 
violet  is  not  indispensable,  at  least  it  has  grown  nat- 
urally from  its  sod.  Whatever  is  real  and  living  in 
the  physical  world,  we  find  to  belong  to  the  universal 
sum  of  its  reality  and  life,  and  to  be  related  to  all 
things  else.  We  observe  this  fact  the  more  we  appre- 
ciate the  revelations  of  scientific  research  presenting 
to  our  eyes  multitudinous  life  hidden  till  now  from  the 
foundations  of  the  earth,  and  to  our  mind  the  infinite 
exactness  of  the  laws  of  nature,  in  their  interdepend- 
ence and  ramifications  uniting  the  whole  cosmos  into 
one  throbbing  life,  as  it  loere,  ivith  all  its  unnumbered 
members  working  together  for  the  common  good. 

So  in  religion  the  truths  of  faith  and  the  acts  of 
worship  which  spring  from  them,  are  properly  co- 
ordinated and  subordinated  members  of  an  organic 
whole.  They  are,  from  their  point  of  view  the  ex- 
pression, and  in  their  province  the  law,  of  the  consti- 
tuted order  of  things.  We  all  of  us  are  morally 
related  to  each  other  and  to  God,    Religion  is  the 


INTRODUCTION  v 

destimj  of  man  in  his  union  with  God  who  is  Truth 
and  Love  and  Life  Eternal. 

The  present  little  ivork  attempts  to  give  in  a  single 
volume  what  might  he  called  a  hird's-ej/e-view  of  re- 
ligion. In  a  popular  way,  the  author  endeavors  to 
review  the  great  facts  of  religion,  as  they  have  de- 
veloped binder  *Uhe  providence  of  God  and  the  folly 
of  man'':  and  to  present  them  in  their  relation  to  each 
other  and  to  human  life.  In  suggesting  an  introduc- 
tion to  the  greatest  subject  that  has  occupied  the 
human  mind,  he  desires  to  write,  as  much  as  possible, 
in  the  language  of  daily  experience  and  unth  a  view 
to  pra^ctical  needs.  The  exhaustive  treatment  of  the 
subjects  and  their  more  technical  phrasing  are  left  to 
the  books  of  the  philosopher  and  the  theologian,  the 
historian  and  the  mystic,  which  arc  mentioned  in  the 
Bibliography. 

The  first  part  of  the  work  briefly  touches  upo^i  the 
religious  needs  and  ideals  of  humanity — often  vestiges 
of  great  truths  that  suggest  a  lost  inheiitance  of 
knowledge — perceived  by  poets  and  philosophers  and 
expressed  by  them  beautifully  but  darkly,  without 
the  surcness  and  fullness  of  revealed  truth:  and  so 
leads  up  to  the  historical  facts  of  the  Incantation  of 
Jesus  Christ  and  the  supernatural  revelation  perfected 
in  Ilim.  . 

The  second  part  deals  with  the  Christian  Church, 
its  origin  and  authority  as  a  society  and  a  teacher,  and 
its  relation  to  the  Bible  and  to  the  religion  of  Christ. 

The  third  part  deals  with  the  practical  and  ultimate 
work  of  the  Church,  in  the  Sacraments  that  consecrate 
the  several  stages  of  the  Christian's  life. 

The  fourth  part  presents  a  perspective  sketch  of  the 
history  of^  the  Christian  religion  from  its  origin  to  the 
present  time. 

The  wise  reader  will  not  expect  that  which  is  im- 
possible.    The  book  of  the  biologist  is  not  life.    It 


vi  INTRODUCTION 

mai/  analyze  certain  conditions  of  life  and  ohserve  cer- 
tain functions  and  may  call  a  nicer  attention  to  the 
life  that  is  all  around  us.  Meantime  life  is  more  than 
the  hook.  The  scientist  knows  only  too  well,  how  ex- 
ternal are  his  observations,  and  how  almost  completely 
the  mystery — life,  ever  eludes  his  most  delicate  touch. 
So  religion  is  more  than  the  words  that  are  written 
ahout  it.  The  apologist  must  he  content,  digging 
down  through  human  nature  and  history,  to  touch  the 
solid  foundations  of  religion,  to  record  the  history  of 
its  expression  in  words  and  deeds,  to  trace  the  origin 
of  its  organized  activities,  to  ohserve  its  effects  on  the 
individual  and  society,  and  to  analyze  somewhat  their 
causes.  All  this  is  good  and  use  fid  and  interesting  as 
is  the  lahor  of  the  hiologist.  The  theologian  knows 
that  his  words  do  not  exhaust  the  mystery.  Yet  the 
reader  may  learn  much  of  the  power  which  makes  the 
pious  mother  seem  as  an  angel  in  her  home. 


CONTENTS 


Iiitro<liif-^-ion.    . 

PAOB 

iii 

1. 

PART  ONE 

Foundations  of  Religion 

CHAPTER  I. 

Man. 

The  Riddle  of  Life   

The  Answer    

1 

a 

3. 

4 

CHAPTER  II. 
God. 

No  Man  an  Athoisi 
He  who  Is        

17 
23 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 

CHAPTER  III. 
Jesus  Christ 

What  Men  Think  of  Christ 

What  Christ  Says  of  Himself   .  . 
Dilemma  of   Unbelievers 

The  Resurrection   

A   Standing   Miracl.- 

The  God-Man    

R68um6  of  Part  One   

33 
38 
41 
43 
46 
48 
50 

PART  TWO 

The  Christian  Church 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Church  as  a  Society. 

12.  The  Church  Founded  bv  Christ 53 

13.  The  Head  of  the  Church   67 

14.  Christ  Established   the   Papacy   with  Peter   as  the 

First  Pope    59 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

15.  The   Primacy   of  Peter   in  the   First   Days   of   the 

Church     ; 65 

16.  St.  Peter  in  Rome 67 

17.  The  Successors  of  Peter   73 

18.  The  Hierarchy  of  the  Church 77 

19.  List  of  the  Popes 80 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Church  as  a  Teacher. 

20.  Faith    84 

21.  Creeds  and  Deeds    88 

22.  Christ's  Message  and  His  Messengers   91 

23.  The  Church  Our  Infallible  Guide   »4 

24.  The  Infallibility  of  the  Pope   97 

26.     Definition  of  Infallibility    99 

26.  The  Roman  Court  104 

27.  The  Church's  Councils   107 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Church  and  the  Bible. 

28.  The  Book  of  Books  109 

29.  The  Book  and  the  Church 112 

30.  The  Rule  of  Faith   116 

31.  The  Canon  of  Inspired  Books   123 

32.  The  Church  Preserved  the  Bible    127 


CHAPTER  VII. 
Science  and  Religion. 

33.  Science  and  the  Bible   136 

34.  Evolution    139 

35.  Miracles     142 

36.  List  of  Catholic  Scientists   146 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

ST.    The  Fathers  of  the  Church 152 

38.     R48um6  of  Part  Two 166 


CONTENTS 

PART  THREE 
The   Christian   Life 
CHAPTER  IX. 
Christ  Our  High  Priest.  paqb 

39.  The  Seven  Sacraments  160 

40.  Exaltation  and  Fall    163 

41.  The  Redemption  of  Christ 167 

CHAPTER  X. 

42.  Baptism— The    Christian's    Birth    173 

CHAPTER  XI. 

43.  Confirmation — The  Christian  Soldier   IM 

CHAPTER  XII. 
The   Holy  Eucharist— The   Christian  Worship. 

44.  The  Christian's  Day  of  Rest   186 

45.  Christ's  Presence  in  the  Eucharist    . .    187 

46.  The  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  194 

47.  The  Sacrament  of  the  Altar    198 

48.  The  Liturgy  of  the  Mass 201 

49.  Latin  and  Greek  in  the  Liturgy   .  207 

50.  Catholic  Ceremonies  and  SacrameutuU    209 

61.     Prayer    ^ 216 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Confession — The  Christian  in  Sin. 

52.  Sin  and  Its  Consequences   220 

53.  Confession  and  Pardon  of  Sin  226 

54.  A  Peep  Into  the  Confessional    231 

55.  Objections  to  Confession  Answered    236 

56.  Indulgences     242 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Holy  Orders — The  Christian  Priesthood. 

57.  The  Sacrament  of  Holy  Orders 250 

58.  Clerical  Celibacy    253 

59.  The  Religious  Orders  and  Their  Life  of  Perfection..  267 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Marriage — The  Christian  Home.  page 

60.  The  Sacrament  of  Matrimony   265 

61.  Divorce    269 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

62.  Extreme  Unction—The  Dying  Christian    275 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Christian's  Eternity. 

63.  The  Last   Things    281 

64.  Purgatory  and  Prayer  for  the  Dead 288 

66.    The   Church  Triumphant    296' 

66.  R6sum6  of  Part  Three  30& 

PART  FOUR 
The  Church  in  History 

67.  Need  of  Historical  Perspective   308 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
The  Church  and  the  Pagan  Roman  Empire. 

68.  The  Roman  Empire    310 

69.  Spread  of  Christianity 317 

70.  Persecution  and  Triumph   320 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
The  Migration  and  Conversion  of  the  Nations. 

71.  The  Migration  of  the  Nations   327 

72.  The  Conversion  of  the  Nations 330 

CHAPTER  XX. 

73.  The  Church  and  the  Christian  Empire  339 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

74.  Temporal  Power  of  the  Popes  345 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

75.  The    Crusades    349 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXIIT. 

76.  The  Monasteries  of  the  Middle  Ages  354 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
The  Culture  of  the  Middle  Ages.  pack 

77.  The  Book  of  the  Words  .  359 

78.  The  Book  of  the  Deeds  .  .  3G4 

79.  The  Book  of  the  Arts   .  .  .363 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  Church  and  Modern  Times. 

SO.     Fruit  of  a  Thousand  Years 377 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
The  Reformation. 

81.  Rise  of  the  Reformation  386 

82.  Preparing  the  Way    390 

83.  Princes   Spread  the   Reformation  396 

84.  Reformation  in  England   400 

85.  Character  of  the  Reformers   .  404 

86.  Reaction     406 

87.  Trent  and  the  Counter  Reform   411 

88.  The  Reformation  and  Civilization  415 

•  89.     Did  the  Reformation  Reform  the  Church?.  424 

90.  Statistics   of   Religion    433 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

The  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States. 

91.  The   Earliest  Americans    436 

92.  Catholic  Colonists  and  Our  Religious  Liberty 438 

93.  Catholics  and  the  Revolution 444 

94.  Catholics  and  the  Constitution    .  .  447 

95.  Catholic   Institutions    450 

96.  Catholic    Education     453 

97.  Catholic  Church  and  Socialism   456 

98.  Patriots  of  Peace  and  War   463 

99.  R^sum6  of  Part  Four 469 

100.     Chart  of  Historical  Data   472 

General  Index 477 


CATHOLIC  RELIGION 

PART  ONE 

CHAPTER  I 

MAN 
1.     THE  RIDDLE  OF  LIFE. 

With  all  thinking  men,  the  meaning  of  life  has 
ever  been  the  ** master  knot  of  human  fate.*' 
Whether  they  cut  the  Gordian  knot  with  the  sword 
of  faith,  or  like  Omar  Khayyam,  deem  its  unravel- 
ing a  hopeless  task,  it  is  the  problem  in  which  all 
are  most  vitally  interested.  It  forces  itself  upon 
each  man  with  a  fresh  and  personal  appeal :  and  his 
answer  to  this  question  shapes  the  principes  and 
actions  of  his  life. 

The  history  of  thought  in  every  age,  interests  us 
for  its  stffcggling  with  the  eternal  problems* of  man's 
origin  and  destiny — the  whence  and  whither  of  our 
lives:  for  its  attempts  to  fix  the  relation  of  man  to 
fellow-man  in  society,  and  of  the  race  to  the  universe 
and  to  God — the  how  and  the  why  of  our  actions. 
*^The  thing,'*  says  Carlyle,  **a  man  does  practically 
lay  to  heart  and  know  for  certain  concerning  his 
vital  relations  to  this  mysterious  universe  and  his 
duty  and  destiny  there,  that  is  in  all  cases  the  pri- 
mary thing  for  him,  and  creatively  determines  all 

1 


2  MAN 

the  rest/'  Men  have  offered  many  solutions  of  the 
riddle. 

Pleasure.  The  prodigal  of  each  recurring  gen- 
eration, imagines  in  the  strong  lust  of  youth  and 
the  exuberance  of  physical  life,  that  he  finds  his  suf- 
ficient goal  in  the  keen  joy  of  merely  living  and  in 
the  gratification  of  the  animal  spirits.  He  sings  his 
banquet  song:  Let  us  crown  ourselves  with  roses 
before  they  wither.  Eat,  drink  and  make  merry, 
for  to-morrow  we  shall  die.  But  the  cup  of  pleasure 
has  its  dregs.  The  life  devoted  only  to  pleasure  will 
in  time  weary  a  man  with  its  very  meaningless- 
ness ;  if  its  remorse  does  not  even  sooner  make  it  un- 
bearable; or  its  excess  does  not  destroy  its  victim's 
power  of  enjoyment.  The  cool  breeze  of  the  dawn- 
ing day  blowing  upon  his  fevered  brow  awakens 
the  Epicurean  to  a  loathing  of  his  midnight  de- 
bauch. The  prodigal  son  continues  to  return  from 
the  pigsty  to  the  father's  home. 

Materialism.  The  successful  life,  says  the  ma- 
terialist, is  built  not  on  the  dreams  of  faith,  but  on 
solid  facts.  It  weighs  its  worth  in  pounds  sterling 
and  the  power  that  dollars  bring.  This  earth  is  our 
world:  we  can  know  no  other.  And  so  in  the  race 
of  life,  he  fights  his  way  ruthlessly  through  the 
crowd,  elbows  back  the  weak,  tramples  under  foot 
women  and  children,  over-reaches  his  brother  in  busi- 
ness, but  ever  forges  toward  the  front;  tfll  at  last 
with  exhausted  health  and  deadened  conscience,  he 
grasps  the  crown  of  Mammon,  as  the  evidence  and 
reward  of  a  successful  life. 

But  are  the  building  of  skyscrapers  in  New  York, 
the  slaughter  of  hogs  in  Chicago,  the  fast-flying  lim- 
ited express,  the  million  dollar  hotel  and  the  billion 
dollar  navy,  the  only  things  v/orth  while?  Are  they 
the  best  things?  Do  they  fully  satisfy  the  favored 
few  who  possess  them,  or  bring  hope  to  the  common 


THE  RIDDLE  OP  LIFE  3 

many  who  view  them  from  afar  and  only  with  a 
sense  of  grievance  or  envy?  Materialism  may  tri- 
umph in.  its  mechanism  and  masonry.  But  over 
their  din  are  heard  the  eternal  questions  of  the  soul 
still  calling  for  answer.  There  are  moral  facts  quite 
as  real  as  the  facts  of  visible  matter.  Even  Croisus 
finds  that  life  is  still  very  short ;  that  death  has  lost 
none  of  its  terrors ;  that  reAorse  comes  to  haunt  the 
sinner  and  to  murder  sleep;  that  the  mystery  of 
eternity  and  immortality  remains  for  the  individual 
the  one  important  problem. 

Not  by  Bread  Alone.  To  another  class,  the  ulti- 
mate purpose  of  life  reduces  itself  to  a  matter  of 
economics — the  struggle  for  bread.  The  supply  of 
food  and  raiment  is  the  barometer  of  success  or  fail- 
ure. Brushing  aside  religion  as  a  primitive  and 
worn-out  wrapping  of  this  one  essential  truth,  agi- 
tators teach  the  toiling  masses  that  happiness  will 
reign  and  the  purpose  of  life  will  be  fully  attained, 
when  all  are  harnessed  to  regular  work  and  pro- 
vided with  plenty  to  eat. 

The  poor  laborer  who  is  the  victim  of  this  shallow 
sophistry,  is  no  longer  buoyed  up  w4th  the  thought 
that  he  works,  not  so  much  for  the  mill  or  the  mine, 
as  for  his  family  and  home,  and  so  for  the  divine 
Master  who  has  intrusted  that  family  to  his  care 
and  who  beholds  every  silent  sacrifice  and  repays  all. 
Robbed  of  the  higher  ideals  that  once  nourished 
their  souls  and  caused  them  to  walk  w^ith  head  erect, 
the  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water  become 
stunted  drudges,  nearer  to  the  beast  of  the  field, 
without  faith  in  God  or  hope  in  Heaven.  Rendered 
desperate  by  the  bewildering  inequalities  of  society, 
they  cry:  **We  too  believe  in  facts,  and  shall  grasp 
our  share  of  them,  though  it  be  over  the  bodies  of 
rulers  and  through  streets  of  blood.  ^' 

The  struggle  for  social  justice  is  a  rightful  one. 


4  MAN 

The  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire  and  that  hire 
should  be  a  living  wage.  Food  and  raiment  are  ne- 
cessities of  life.  To  rob  a  man  of  the  necessities  of 
life  is  a  sin  that  cries  to  heaven  for  vengeance.  To 
rob  him  of  his  faith  in  God,  to  destroy  the  very  life 
of  his  soul,  is  no  less  a  sin.  There  is  need  of  nei- 
ther sin.  Man  should  live  the  life  of  the  body  and 
find  his  share  of  happiness  in  the  years  of  time: 
and  he  should  live  the  life  of  the  soul  and  prepare 
for  the  fullness  of  happiness  in  the  years  of  eter- 
nity. 

But  no  social  system,  however  favorable  it  might 
be  to  the  righting  of  many  wrongs  and  to  the  amel- 
ioration of  conditions,  can  smooth  away  all  social 
inequality,  or  take  from  us  the  poor,  or  transform 
human  passion,  or  wipe  out  sickness  and  suffering, 
or  make  this  earth  the  heaven  which  it  is  not.  Those 
who  have  been  able  to  command  the  products  of 
the  continents,  have  found  that  the  yearnings  of 
man  are  not  satisfied  even  with  much  more  than  the 
food  and  raiment  of  the  body.  An  illustrious  prince 
was  wont  to  say :  * '  If  life  meant  nothing  more  than 
the  few  years  we  spend  here,  it  were  not  worth  while 
dressing  of  a  morning — it  were  better  to  commit  sui- 
cide at  once."  The  pagan  Emperor  Septimus  Se- 
verus  addressed  his  funeral  urn:  *'I  have  been  all 
things  and  all  things  are  nothing.  I  nowhere  found 
content  or  happiness.  Now  thou  wilt  contain  him 
for  whom  the  world  was  too  little."  Solomon,  the 
wisest  of  men,  when  he  was  king,  and  had  his  riches, 
and  withheld  not  his  heart  from  any  joy,  nor  kept 
his  eyes  from  whatsoever  they  desired,  recorded  his 
portion  as  *' vanity  of  vanities  and  all  is  vanity." 
Jesus  Christ  explains  the  failure  of  material  goods  to 
satisfy  the  human  heart,  in  the  words:  *^Man  lives 
not  by  bread  alone.  "^ 

» Luke  4.  4. 


THE  RIDDLE  OF  LIFE  5 

Ambition.  To  mount  the  ladder  of  fame  and  re- 
ceive the  plaudits  of  the  world  is,  for  some  men,  the 
breath  of  life  and  the  purpose  dominating  all  their 
actions.  But  while  many  run  in  the  race  and  stir 
up  the  Olympian  dust,  one  receives  the  prize. 
When  failure  is  the  harvest,  and  the  ambitious  man 
sees  the  trophy  which  was  the  one  goal  of  all  his 
toil,  seized  by  another  hand,  he  begins  to  realize 
that  he  has  served  a  fickle  master.  He  regrets  that 
he  has  spent  his  best  energies  in  the  service  of  a 
thing  that  is  even  less  than  himself.  When  he  sees 
names  that  only  yesterday  were  blazoned  on  the 
banner  of  honor  and  held  up  as  the  models  worthy 
of  youth's  highest  aspiration,  tumbled  down  in  dis- 
grace and  dragged  in  the  dust,  he  asks  in  his  pessi- 
mism: *'Is  life  worth  living?'*  Perhaps  humbly 
conscious  that  he  has  missed  its  meaning,  he  again 
ponders  the  riddle,  and  admits,  with  the  fallen  Wol- 
sey: — 

"Had  I  but  served  my  God  with  half  the  zeal 
I  served  my  Kinjr,  lie  would  not  in  mine  age, 
Have  left  me  naked  to  mine  enemies." 

Ambition  may  succeed  and  raise  one  on  high 
among  the  lords  of  the  earth.  And  what  then? 
The  following  story  is  told  of  St.  Philip  Neri  and  a 
young  student: 

Neri: — ''And  when  these  college  days  are  over, 
what  then?" 

Youth: — "I  hope,  sir,  to  become  a  lawyer." 

Neri:— ''And  what  then?" 

Youth: — ^"From  the  bar  I  hope  in  time  to  go  up 
to  the  bench  and  be  a  judge." 

Neri:— "And  what  then?" 

Youth:— "Then  I  should  like  to  be  a  senator  and 
help  to  make  the  law^s." 

Neri :— ' '  And  what  then  ? ' ' 


6  .  MAN 

louth: — *'Then  I  might  be  sent  as  ambassador, 
to  represent  my  country  at  a  foreign  court." 

Neri:— **And  what  then?" 

Youth : — *  *  Then  I  fear  I  would  be  an  old  man,  so  I 
would  like  to  live  in  a  villa  and  enjoy  the  friends 
and  honors  of  my  successful  career." 

Neri:— ''And  what  then?" 

The  youth  is  silent.  Then  eternity,  which  meas- 
ures our  success,  not  by  the  titles  and  possessions  we 
leave  behind  us,  but  by  the  riches  of  virtue  and  grace 
which  we  carry  with  us  as  part  of  ourselves  into  the 
larger  life.  Eternity  teaches  the  meaning  of  life  in 
the  test:  *'What  will  it  profit  a  man  to  gain  the 
whole  world  and  suffer  the  loss  of  his  own  soul !  ^ 
Neither  fame  nor  pleasure,  neither  materialism  nor 
socialism  are  the  answer  to  the  riddle  of  life. 

2.    THE  RIDDLE  ANSWERED. 

The  purpose  of  any  object  is  essentially  bound 
up  with  its  nature.  The  one  reveals  the  other.  We 
must  then  discover  the  destiny  of  man,  not  in  the 
passions  of  pride  or  avarice  or  lust  that  may  domi- 
nate for  a  time,  occasional  individuals  or  classes, 
but  in  marks  that  lie  so  deep  in  all  human  nature, 
that  they  persist  through  all  the  changes  of  time 
and  place  and  social  condition,  and  assert  themselves 
in  the  crises  of  life,  over  the  whole  race. 

Aspirations.  In  our  moments  of  sincerest 
thought,  we  all  of  us  experience  the  fact  that  the 
best  this  world  can  afford  us  leaves  us  still  soul- 
hungry  and  unsatisfied.  Our  human  nature  seeks 
for  happiness;  and  the  thorn  in  every  earthly  rose 
mocks  us,  if  there  be  no  happiness  that  will  endure. 
The  human  mind  aspires  to  truth;  and  is  not  satis- 
fied to  grope  a  little  while  in  its  shadows  or  at  best 

2Mt.  16,  26. 


THE  RIDDLE  ANSWERED  7 

to  catch  a  few  broken  rays  of  its  pure  light.  The 
human  heart  is  made  for  love ;  and  yearns  for  a  love 
that  must  not  ever  come  to  weep  '*a  priestess  in  the 
vaults  of  death."  We  crave  life ;  and  in  the  face  of 
death  still  feel  the  instinct  of  immortality.  We 
give  our  heart's  blood  for  friend  or  country,  con- 
vinced that 

"Life  is  real,  life  is  earnest, 
And  the  grave  is  not  its  goal; 
Dust  thou  art,  to  dust  returnest, 
Was  ne'er  spoken  of  the  soul." 

The  thought  and  love  which  are  our  better  selves 
hunger  after  the  infinite  truth,  the  infinite  good,  the 
eternal  life.  The  Infinite  is  God.  ''The  very  fact," 
says  Canon  Sheehan,  "that  we  can  rise  above  our 
low  levels,  where  one  hears  only  the  harsh  music 
of  creatures  in  a  state  of  transition  from  reptile  to 
angel,  and  dream  of  loftier  things,  is  a  pledge  of 
their  realization."  Speaking  like  one  having  au- 
thority, the  little  catechism  sums  up  the  philosophy 
of  life  in  the  words: — Man  is  created  to  know  God 
and  love  Him  and  serve  Him  in  this  world  and  so 
to  be  happy  with  Him  forever  in  the  world  to  come. 

Soul  Immortal.  The  immortality  of  the  human 
soul  is  a  condition,  asit  is  also  an  evidence,  of  man's 
undying  destiny.  The  conviction  "that  something 
in  us  never  dies,"  is  as  universal  as  the  human  race. 
Like  any  truth  about  which  all  men  and  all  ages 
agree,  the  immortality  of  the  soul  dominates  minds 
with  the  power  and  certainty  of  an  instinct.  This 
is  true  even  though  the  many  may  but  poorly  for- 
mulate the  terms  and  reasons  of  their  belief.  Emer- 
son says:  *"We  are  much  better  believers  in 
immortality  than  we  can  give  grounds  for.  Its  evi- 
dence is  too  subtle  or  is  higher  than  we  can  write 
down  in  propositions."    Martineau  adds,  not  alto- 


8  MAN 

gether  without  fallacy:  *'We  do  not  believe  in 
immortality  because  we  have  proved  it,  but  we  for- 
ever try  to  prove  it  because  we  believe  it. ' ' 

Faith  of  Race.  The  sensitive  genius  of  the  poets, 
reflecting  the  deepest  wells  of  human  nature,  has 
enriched  all  literature  with  records  of  man's  faith 
in  immortality. 

Addison  recasts  the  thought  of  the  Greek  philos- 
opher : 

"Plato,  thou  reasonest  well, 
It  must  be  so:   .  .  . 

Else — whence  this  pleasing  hope,  that  fond  desire, 
Thiu  longing  after  immortality? 
Or  whence  this  secret  dread,  and  inward  horror 
Of  falling  into  naught?    "Why  shrinks  the  soul 
Back  on  itself,  and  startles  at  destruction? 
'Tis  the  divinity  that  stirs  within  us; 
'Tis  Heaven  itself  that  points  out  a  hereafter 
And  intimates  Eternity  to  man." 

Tennyson  records  the  aspirations  of  the  human 
soul: 

"My  own  dim  life  should  teach  me  this. 
That  life  shall  live  forevermore; 
Else  earth  is  darkness  to  the  core 
And  dust  and  ashes  all  that  is." 

Byron  sings  the  insistent  power  of  this  faith : 

"Immortality  o'er  sweeps 
All  pains,  all  tears,  all  time,  all  fears,  and  peals 
Like  the  eternal  thunder  of  the  deep, 
Into  my  ears  this  truth.  Thou  livest  forever." 

Conscience  and  Immortality.  Conscience  be- 
speaks our  immortality.  The  evildoer  is  filled  with 
dread  of  the  punishment  of  his  acts  of  which  no  man 
but  himself  has  any  knowledge.  He  feels  responsi- 
ble to  a  judge  beyond  all  human  courts.     From  this 


THE  RIDDLE  ANSWERED  9 

responsibility  even  deeth  is  no  release.  On  the  con- 
trary, terror  of  the  consequences  of  sin,  dread  of  an 
inevitable  judgment,  are  the  poison  that  gives  its 
worst  sting  to  death.  This  universal  belief  in  a 
judge  and  sanction  dealing  with  the  human  soul  in 
the  world  to  come,  proclaims  that  the  soul  survives 
its  separation  from  the  body  in  death. 

Shakespeare  again  and  again  describes  this  real 
and  mighty,  although  immaterial  power  of  con- 
science as  it  proves  man's  immortality.  To  Hamlet 
it  proves  greater  than  the  weight  of  woes  that  tempt 
the  melancholy  Dane  to  suicide. 

"To  be,  or  not  to  be:  that  is  the  question: 
Whether  'tis  nobler  in  the  mind  to  suffer 
The  slings  and  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune, 
Or  to  take  arms  against  a  sea  of  troubles, 
And  by  opposing  end  them? 

To  die:   to  sleep: 
No  more:  and  by  a  sleep  to  say  we  end 
The  heartache  and  the  thousand  natural  shocks 
That  flesh  is  heir  to; — 'tis  a  consummation 
Devoutly  to  be  wished. 

To  die:   to  sleep: 
To  sleep:  perchance  to  dream:  ay,  there's  the  rub; 
For  in  that  sleep  of  death  what  dreams  may  come 
When  we  have  shuffled  off  this  mortal  coil, 
Must  give  us  pause.     There's  the  respect 
That  makes  calamity  of  so  long  life; 
For  who  would  bear  the  whips  and  scorns  of  tinte, 
The  oppressor's  wrong,  the  proud  man's  contumely, 
The  pangs  of  despised  love,  the  law's  delay, 
The  insolence  of  office,  and  the  spurns 
That  patient  merit  of  the  unworthy  take. 
When  he  himself  might  his  quietus  make 
With  a  bare  bodkin?     Who  would  fardels  bear; 
To  grunt  and  sweat  under  a  weary  life, 
But  that  the  dread  of  something  aftet  death. 
The  undiscovered  country  from  whose  bourn 
No  traveller  returns,  puzzles  the  will, 
And  makes  us  rather  bear  those  ills  we  have. 
Than  fly  to  others  that  we  know  not  of  ? 
Thus  conscience  does  make  cowards  of  us  all." 


10  MAN 

Eternal  Justice.  Of  healthier  men,  conscience 
makes  not  cowards  but  heroes.  Great  minds  that 
contemplate  the  noble  aspirations  and  splendid  pos- 
sibilities of  man's  moral  and  intellectual  nature, 
only  to  be  shocked  by  the  shortness  and  uncertainty 
of  his  life  which  is  borne  from  the  womb  to  the 
tomb,  find  consolation  in  their  hope  of  immortality. 
The  dying  Socrates  assured  his  mourning  friends, 
that  they  would  bury  not  himself,  but  his  body. 
Like  a  traveler  who  avails  himself  of  the  accommo- 
dations of  a  hotel  and  passes  on  to  his  destination 
in  the  morning,  David  says  of  his  life:  "I  am  a 
stranger  with  thee  and  a  sojourner,  as  all  my  fathers 
were."  Kant  argued  that  a  future  life  is  demanded 
and  postulated  by  our  moral  nature,  as  necessary 
for  its  sanction  and  development.  "If,"  says  Jean 
Jacques  Rosseau,  ^*I  had  no  other  proof  of  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  than  the  prosperity  of  the 
wicked  and  the  oppression  of  the  just  in  the  world, 
that  alone  would  be  enough  to  convince  me.  To 
explain  such  a  terrible  exception  to  the  established 
harmony  of  the  Universe,  I  would  be  forced  to  ex- 
claim: All  cannot  end  with  death:  all  will  be  put 
into  proper  order  and  harmony  after  death."  The 
Christian  speaks  of  this  life,  as  a  pilgrimage  wherein 
he  works  his  way  to  the  promised  land  and  proves 
his  fitness  for  its  larger  life. 

Voice  of  Nature.  Burns,  like  other  great  bards, 
expresses  these  feelings  which  all  agree  are  the 
voice  of  nature: 

"The  voice  of  nature  loudly  cries, 
And  many  a  message  from  the  skies, 
That  on  this  frail,  uncertain  state, 
Hang  matters  of  eternal  weight; 
That  future  life  in  worlds  unknown, 
•   Must  take  its  hue  from  this  alone; 
Whether  as  heavenly  glory  bright, 
Or  dark  as  misery's  woeful  night." 


THE  RIDDLE  ANSWERED  11 

An  English  poet  thus  vindicates  the  argument 
taken  from  the  universal  consent  of  men: 

"If  then  all  men,  both  good  and  bad  do  teach. 
With  general  voice,  the  soul  can  never  die, 
'Tis  not  man's  flattering  gloss,  but  Nature's  speech, 
Which  like  God's  oracle,  can  never  lie." 

Science  and  Soul.  Physical  science  as  such,  can 
have  nothing  to  say  about  the  soul,  which  is  outside 
of  the  material  sphere.  The  physician  who  an- 
nounced that  his  dissecting  knife  had  never  laid 
bare  a  soul,  was  guilty  of  the  absurdity  of  proclaim- 
ing that  the  principle  of  life  was  not  found  in  a  body 
which  the  audience  already  knew  to  be  dead.  When 
the  eminent  Dr.  Wm.  Osier,  lecturing  on  Science  and 
Immortality,  invites  his  students  to  join  him  in 
standing  with  Cicero  and  Plato  and  the  other  great- 
est minds  that  have  believed  in  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  he  speaks  not  as  a  physician  but  a  philoso- 
pher. While  it  is  outside  its  sphere  to  discuss  the 
metaphysical,  many  analogies  from  natural  science 
are  in  favor  of  the  immortality  of.  the  soul. 

Thus  it  is  a  well  known  fact,  recognized  by  all 
scientific  men,  and  confirmed  by  innumerable  beau- 
tiful and  ingenious  experiments,  that  nothing  what- 
soever of  which  our  senses  can  take  cognizanee,  is 
ever  utterly  destroyed.  We  may  bring  about  all 
sorts  of  chemical  changes,  and  wholly  alter  the  ap- 
pearance and  properties  of  things.  But  while  we 
may  redispose,  we  cannot  wipe  out  of  existence 
any  smallest  matter.  The  well  known  law,  that  the 
sum  of  all  the  energies  in  the  universe  must  ever  re- 
main a  constant  quantity,  is  only  another  way  of 
saying,  that  though  forces  may  be  transformed,  they 
can  never  be  destroyed.  As  God  alone  can  create, 
so  God  alone  can  annihilate.    Man  can  do  neither. 


12  MAN 

What  we  call  *' decay"  and  ''destruction"  and 
"death,"  does  not  involve  real  extinction.  It  in- 
volves nothing  more  than  change.  The  iceberg 
melts  away;  but  remains  as  water.  The  river  in 
time  washes  away  the  great  rock,  which  remains  as 
sand.  The  house  bums  to  the  ground;  but  every 
atom  of  its  stick  and  brick  remains  as  ash  or  gas  or 
carbon,  and  may  be  accurately  accounted  for. 

In  death,  man's  body  and  soul  are  separated. 
That  the  body  remains — however  much  changed 
and  reduced  to  the  elements  of  which  it  was  com- 
posed, is  a  commonplace  of  science  and  even  of  pop- 
ular observation.  No  less  does  the  soul  remain. 
Nor  does  it  undergo  the  disintegration  which  is  the 
fate  of  the  body.  The  body  decomposes  because  it 
was  composed.  It  is  made  up  of  many  ingredients. 
The  soul  is  not  composed  of  parts.  Were  it  made 
up  of  parts  it  would  be  material.  But  it  is  not 
material.  Corporal  atoms  are  not  invested  with 
judgment,  intelligence  and  virtue.  Matter  does  not 
think  and  reason,  sin  and  repent,  rejoice  and  sor- 
row, or  philosophize  about  the  abstract  notions  of 
duty,  justice,  morality  and  truth.  The  soul  has  no 
parts  and  no  extension.  It  has  no  right  or  left,  no 
top  or  bottom.  You  cannot  speak  of  the  soul's  size 
or  weight  or  color,  any  more  than  you  can  speak  of 
the  size  or  weight  or  color  of  an  abstract  idea.  The 
soul  is  a  spirit  without  dimensions  or  divisions.  It 
cannot  suffer  destruction  by  disintegration,  because 
it  has  no  parts  to  be  disintegrated.  It  cannot  be 
destroyed  because  it  is  an  indivisible  unit.  In  the 
face  of  death  it  remains  what  it  was.  ''These  may 
destroy  the  case  of  Anaxarchus:  himself  they  can- 
not reach." 

Matter  and  Spirit.  Philosophers  discuss  the  in- 
most self  of  man  in  terms  of  scientific  accuracy. 
Man  has   something   in  his  nature   whose   actions 


THE  RIDDLE  ANSWERED  13 

transcend  the  action  of  any  material  organ  howso- 
ever perfect  it  may  be;  whose  properties,  powers 
and  whole  nature  are  of  a  totally  distinct  order  of 
being  from  a  thing  that  is  material;  something 
which,  though  it  informs  matter,  can  exist  independ- 
ently of  matter.  They  call  that  something  the  soul. 
We  know  what  a  thing  is,  from  what  it  does.  From 
its  actions  they  observe  that,  though  not  material, 
the  soul  is  nevertheless  a  real  substance.  It  is  su- 
perior to  matter.  It  transcends  the  action  of  any 
corporeal  agent.  It  is  a  substantial  nature  endowed 
with  intelligence  and  free  will.  This  reality  which 
is  not  material,  is  called  a  spiritual  being.  A  simple 
principle  of  life,  it  is  without  the  germ  of  dissolu- 
tion and  death:  and  so  in  the  providence  of  the 
Creator  who  does  not  annihilate  His  work,  the  soul 
is  immortal. 

The  body  can  act  only  as  a  body.  Its  functions 
are  with  the  material  and  concrete.  Matter  must 
act  materially.  For  it  to  act  immaterially  were  a 
contradiction  in  terms.  Nevertheless  man  is  able 
to  act  immaterially.  He  reasons  beyond  the  partic- 
ular fact,  to  the  general  law.  He  is  affected  by  the 
moral  as  powerfully  as  by  the  material.  He  knows 
the  true  and  loves  the  good. 

**It  is  a  strange  and  significant  fact,"  says  Rich- 
ard Proctor,  "that  man,  insignificant  in  his  dimen- 
sions and  in  all  his  physical  powers,  and  compelled 
always  to  remain  upon  this  orb  which  is  utterly 
insignificant  when  compared  to  the  golar  system, 
should  yet  dare  to  raise  his  thoughts  beyond  the 
earth  and  beyond  the  solar  system,  to  contemplate 
boldly  those  amazing  depths  amidst  which  the  stel- 
lar glories  are  strewn.  That  he  should  undertake 
to  measure  the  scale  on  w^hich  the  universe  is  built, 
to  rate  the  stars  as  with  swift  yet  steady  motion 
they  career  through  space,  to  test  and  analyze  their 


14  MAN 

very  substance,  to  form  a  judgment  as  to  processes 
taking  place  on  and  around  them,  all  this  affords 
noble  conceptions  of  the  qualities  which  the  Al- 
mighty has  implanted  in  the  soul  of  man.'' 

Nor  does  man  stop  with  the  abstractions  of  higher 
mathematics  or  the  philosophical  subtleties  of  ethics. 
He  passes  all  assignable  limit  whether  of  species  or 
magnitude,  and  rises  to  contemplate  the  universal 
and  speak  of  the  infinite. 

Body  and  Soul.  While  matter  and  spirit  are  es- 
sentially different  and  each  is  capable  of  existing 
independently  of  the  other,  yet  in  this  life  we  find 
them  united  together  in  one  composite  substance — 
man.  Man  is  composed  of  body  and  soul.  While 
matter  and  spirit  are  thus  united,  the  soul  depends 
upon  the  body  as  the  organ  through  which  it  ex- 
presses itself  and  communicates  with  the  outside 
world.  So  great  is  this  dependence,  that  an  injury 
to  the  organ  throws  into  discord  the  music  of  the 
spirit  that  plays  upon  it.  Yet  the  spirit  is  not  the 
body,  any  more  than  the  musician  is  the  instrument 
which  at  the  touch  of  his  fingers  echoes  the  passion 
of  his  heart.  Paderewski  is  no  less  the  modern 
Orpheus,  because  the  loosened  strings  and  broken 
sounding  board  of  his  piano  cannot  worthily  re- 
spond to  the  music  of  his  art,  but  gives  forth 
strident  noises  instead  of  mellifluous  symphonies. 
Though  his  tongue  be  paralyzed,  the  thoughts  of 
Webster  are  not  therefore  less  eloquent.  When  his 
granddaughter  led  the  stricken  Emerson  from  the 
platform  in  the  midst  of  his  last  lecture,  though  the 
worn-out  machinery  of  the  brain  had  broken  down, 
its  master  had  not  thereby  forfeited  his  identity; 
nor  was  his  inner  soul  less  beautiful  or  less  beloved 
of  his  hushed  and  reverent  audience.  The  dying 
words  of  Columbus  and  of  Charlemagne,  ''Father, 
into  Thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit" — the  echo  of 


THE  RIDDLE  Ax\8WERED  15 

the  last  words  of  a  greater  world  revealer  and  a 
greater  king,  challenge  the  victory  of  death  with 
the  faith  that  amid  the  ruins  of  its  temple  of  clay, 
the  soul  stands  unharmed  and  immortal. 

God  Our  Goal.  If  the  philosopher  and  the  poet 
find  the  significance  and  dignity  of  life  in  the  des- 
tiny of  the  immortal  soul,  Nature  whispers  the  same 
secret  to  her  meanest  child.  In  his  very  idolatry, 
the  poor  savage  gropes  blindly  after  God,  as  the 
plant  in  the  winter  cellar  stretches  out  and  twists 
its  branches  toward  the  light  which  is  its  life  and 
which  must  be  somewhere.  In  daily  life  the  con- 
science-stricken thief  acknowledges  a  law  not  ma- 
terial, when  he  purchases  peace  by  returning  his  ill- 
gotten  goods.  The  scoffer  awakening  in  the  silent 
darkness  of  the  night  and  listening  to  the  little  heart 
pulse  beating  away  the  moments  of  his  life — con- 
scious of  his  own  personality,  alone  coming  into  the 
world  alone  leaving  it,  unable  to  down  the  instinct 
of  immortality  within — does  not  blaspheme  as  he 
did  in  the  blaze  and  bustle  of  the  noon-day  street. 
Perhaps  like  Richard  he  sighs:  ''Jesus,  Mercy!" 
And  the  virtuous  man  striving  to  walk  nobly  through 
life,  feels  with  Augustine  of  Hippo,  that  the  soul 
was  made  for  the  God  that  created  it,  and  that  it 
will  not  rest  till  it  rests  in  God. 

This  then  is  the  end  of  human  life :  to  be  united 
with  God,  through  all  the  growing  perfection  of  our 
seeing  Him  now  darkly,  as  it  were,  through  the  glass 
of  faith,  up  to  the  brightness  of  our  beholding  Him 
face  to  face  in  everlasting  life.  As  this  is  the  true 
significance  of  life,  it  is  the  noblest,:  a  purpose 
worthy  of  the  highest  efforts  of  our  powers ;  a  suf- 
ficient stimulus  and  reward  for  heroic  moral  strug- 
gle;  a  goal  that  measures  success  in  life  and  opens 
its  race  to  the  striving  of  both  high  and  low ;  a  des- 
tiny that   gives   meaning  to   virtue,   revealing  the 


16  MAN 

value  of  truth  and  justice  and  love,  over  gold  and 
pleasure  and  place.  As  the  immortal  soul  is  made 
for  the  Infinite,  in  pursuing  his  destiny,  man  real- 
izes that  religion  and  life  are  one. 


CHAPTER  n 

GOD 
3.    NO  MAN  AN. ATHEIST. 

Belief  in  God  is  as  widespread  as  faith  in  the  im- 
mortality of  the  SLOul.  Both  are  coextensive  with 
the  human  race.  The  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being 
and  our  consequent  relation  to  Him,  are  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  philosopher's  laborious  study,  and  seem- 
ingly the  instinct  of  the  untamed  child  of  nature. 
It  is  the  common  sense  of  mankind.  If  there  exists 
an  occasional  atheist,  he  is  the  exception  that  proves 
♦  the  rule.  The  research  of  years  has  not  disproved 
the  words  of  Plutarch:  **If  you  traverse  the  earth, 
you  may  find  cities  without  walls,  or  literature,  or 
laws,  or  fixed  habitations,  or  coins.  But  a  city 
destitute  of  temples  and  Gods,  no  one  has  ever  seen 
or  ever  shall  see." 

American  Reverence.  It  is  a  sign  of  the  healthy 
mental  balance  of  our  American  people,  that 
amongst  us,  belief  in  God,  respect  for  religion,  rev- 
erence before  the  great  mystery  of  life  and  eternity, 
are  universal  and  profound.  This  popular  recogni- 
tion of  the  truth  and  goodness  of  religion,  is  evidence 
that  we  live  close  to  the  heart  of  reality.  Unlike  the 
dream  world,  which  some  writers  create  out  of  words 
draped  on  the  forms  of  logic,  and  which  they  then 
demonstrate  to  be  nothing,  ours  is  a  real  world; 
and  we  neither  pretend  to  explain  all  of  its  mys- 
teries, nor  to  deny  their  existence.    It  is  a  most 

17 


18  GOD 

significant  fact,  revealed  by  our  United  States  re- 
ligious census  of  1906,  that  the  people  of  this  coun- 
try, by  their  voluntary  contributions,  erected  an 
average  of  eight  churches  every  day  during  the  pre- 
ceding sixteen  years. 

Our  practical  habits  and  strenuous  business  life 
unfortunately  hold  some  so  constantly  to  the  grind- 
stone of  material  interests  that  they  never  get  be- 
yond the  A.  B.  C.  of  that  larger  view  of  life  revealed 
by  religion.  Their  lack  of  faith  arises  probably  in 
great  part,  from  lack  of  knowledge.  Their  attitude 
is  perhaps  rather  one  of  bewilderment  than  of 
apostasy.  They  grant  that  a  church  steeple  is  a 
more  satisfying  inspiration  than  a  smoke  stack. 
They  want  their  children  to  come  under  the  influence 
of  religion.  They  gladly  support  its  institutions  as 
the  schools  of  character  and  virtue ;  and  feel  rather 
guilty  that  they  neglect  its  call  to  themselves. 

No  great  American  has  been  an  atheist.  Robert 
Ingersoll  spent  his  eloquence  in  combating  the  cari- 
cature of  God  and  religion  which  had  been  burned 
into  his  boyhood  mind  by  the  mad  fanaticism  of  his 
father.  That  gentleman  preached  so  cruel  a  con- 
cept of  God  and  salvation,  that  he  was  cut  off  from 
his  religious  organization  even  in  a  place  and  time 
that  cherished  ultra-Calvinistic  views.  The  vagaries 
of  his  father,  the  son  mistook  for  the  common  teach- 
ings of  Christian  faith,  which  in  later  life  he  could 
approach  only  with  the  prejudice  of  outraged  feel- 
ings and  consequently  distorted  vision.  On  the  sub- 
ject of  religion,  Ingersoll  became  a  monomaniac. 
Yet  his  mind  could  not  be  closed  to  the  Infinite 
Truth  and  Love  which  is  God ;  nor  could  his  life  help 
breathing  something  of  the  Christian  atmosphere 
which  influences  our  whole  civilization. 

Thomas  Paine,  while  not  a  Christian,  was  no  athe- 
ist.   His  biographers   declare   that  he   penned   his 


NO  MAN  AN  ATHEIST  19 

most  famous  book  to  stem,  with  its  deism,  the  tide 
of  atheism  which  flooded  France  at  the  time  of  the 
Revolution. 

Spencer's  Unknowable.  Men  who  are  at  once 
shallow  and  pretentious,  sometimes  seek  to  dignify 
the  practical  atheism  of  their  lives,  by  invoking 
such  celebrated  names  as  Herbert  Spencer  and  Im- 
manuel  Kant.  They  quote  the  latter *s  dictum  that 
God  is  the  Unknowable.  Yet  Spencer  is  far  from 
denying  the  existence  of  God.  In  his  First  Princi- 
ples, where  he  styles  God  the  ** Unknowable,"  he 
proclaims  his  conviction  that  religion  is  something 
eminently  true. 

If  Spencer  speaks  of  God  as  the  Unknowable,  he 
means  to  say  that  God  is  outside  of  the  category 
of  material  objects  and  phenomena.  To  observe, 
weigh,  measure,  and  experiment  with  material 
things,  is  the  province  of  the  physical  sciences,  like 
chemistry  and  astronomy.  Now  it  suited  Spencer 
to  limit  the  meaning  of  the  word  knowledge,  to  the 
cognition  of  the  things  which  we  can  bring  before 
our  senses.  Tennyson  uses  the  word  in  the  same 
restricted  and  unusual  sense,  in  the  lines : 

"We  have  but  faith:  we  cannot  know; 
For  knowledge  is  of  things  we  see: 
And  yet  we  trust  it  comes  from  Thee, 
A  beam  in  darkness:  let  it  grow." 

Spencer's  phrase  is  really  a  contradiction:  for  he 
writes  that  this  **  Unknowable "  exists  and  indeed 
underlies  everything:  that  it  is  the  Universal  En- 
ergy, the  Final  Cause  behind  all  observed  causes, 
the  Ultimate  Reality,  the  basis  of  all  our  intelligence. 
This  suggests  not  agnosticism,  but  very  considerable 
knowledge. 

It  is  true  that  our  knowledge  of  God  is  imperfect. 
As  St.  Paul  says,  now  we  know  in  part,  and  we  see 


20  GOD 

only  in  a  dark  manner  and  as  it  were  through  a 
glass.  But  as  far  as  it  goes,  this  knowledge  is  real, 
since  it  corresponds  with  a  reality  outside  of  our 
minds.  It  is  also  useful  for  practical  conduct,  as 
our  meager  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  electricity 
does  not  prevent  us  from  accepting  it  as  a  fact  and 
making  it  one  of  our  best  friends.  Far  from  deny- 
ing the  existence  of  God,  his  science  led  Spencer 
constantly  to  perceive  and  acknowledge  the  First 
Cause  that  lies  back  of  all  phenomena,  itself  un- 
caused and  unreached,  yet  ever  present  like  the  hori- 
zon that  surrounds  our  vision.  However  little  he 
may  know  the  one  true  God  and  proclaim  His  attri- 
butes, Spencer  was  too  wise  a  man  to  dare  abso- 
lutely to  deny  the  existence  of  God  or  to  declare 
that  science  left  no  place  for  religion.  *' Religion 
and  Science,''  he  writes,  ''are  necessary  correla- 
tives, the  positive  and  negative  poles  of  thought, 
of  which  neither  can  gain  in  intensity  without  in- 
creasing the  intensity  of  the  other."  ^ 

Kant's  Idealism.  Kant  denies  neither  God  nor  re- 
ligion. The  German  philosopher  aimed  at  giving  a 
positive  value  to  the  moral  principle.  He  opposed 
the  degradation  of  virtue,  in  making  it  not  some- 
thing valuable  for  its  own  sake,  but  only  as  a  means 
of  acquiring  happiness.  If  the  Idealism  of  his  Crit- 
ique of  Pure  Reason  puts  it  outside  the  power  of 
the  mind  to  reach  from  the  finite  to  the  infinite  and 
know  with  direct  certainty  the  highest  truth,  he 
does  not  thereby  deny  the  real  existence  of  those 
super-sensible  objects.  On  the  contrary,  he  wrote 
his  Critique  of  Practical  Reason  to  assert  the  moral 
conscience  as  the  true  basis  of  our  conviction  of  the 
objective  reality  of  a  supreme  moral  law  and  of  a 
Sovereign  Good  which  is  the  object  of  that  law. 

While  those  who  would  flippantly  deny  the  exist- 

*  First- Principles.     Part  1. 


NO  MAN  AN  ATHEIST  21 

ence  of  God  and  sneer  at  all  religion,  would  be  re- 
pudiated by  either  Kant  or  Spencer,  it  is  true  that 
those  philosophers  do  not  build  faith  on  the  intel- 
lectual basis  which  alone  will  vindicate  its  truth 
and  satisfy  thinking  men.  With  them  religion  is 
thus  deprived  of  its  proper  foundation,  not  because 
they  exalt  reason  and  stand  by  it;  but  precisely 
because  they  disparage  reason  and  deny  its  wings 
their  proper  flight.  Spencer  denies  to  reason  the 
power  of  passing  the  objects  which  greet  our  senses, 
and  Columbus  like,  exploring  that  larger  sphere  be- 
yond our  eyes'  horizon,  which  we  touch  upon  as 
often  as  we  ask  the  question,  What  caused  this 
Cause?  What  lies  beyond?  Kant's  idealism  vir- 
tually dethrones  reason  by  impeaching  it  in  its 
natural  function. 

Failure.  Even  Fichte,  the  disciple  of  Kant,  de- 
tected and  exposed  the  error  of  his  master,  by  insist- 
ing on  the  simple  postulate:  the  me  is  me,  the  not- 
me  is  not  me,  the  object  is  not  the  subject.  Spencer, 
in  the  last  pages  that  he  penned,^  admitted  the  fail- 
ure of  his  system  of  philosophy.  He  not  only  wrote 
of  this  sense  of  failure,  but  spoke  of  it  to  his  asso- 
ciates. Henry  Murrey,  in  his  Memoirs,  ''A  Step- 
son of  Fortune,"  relates  this  incident: 

** Walking  up  and  down  the  lawn  of  Buchanan's 
home  in  Maresfield  Gardens,  I  told  hkn,  in  a  mo- 
mentary absence  of'  our  host,  what  a  load  of  per- 
sonal obligation  I  felt  under  to  his  'First  Principles,' 
and  added  that  I  intended  to  devote  the  reading 
hours  of  the  next  two  or  three  years  to  a  thorough 
study  of  his  entire  output.  'What  have  you  read  of 
mine?'  he  asked.  I  told  him.  .  .  .  Then,'  said 
Spencer — and  it  was  the  only  time  I  have  ever  heard 
such  a  counsel  from  the  lips  of  any  writer  regard- 
ing his  own  work — 'I  should  say  that  you  have  read 

'  Spencer's  Autobiographical  "Reflections." 


22  GOD 

quite  enough/  He  fell  silent  for  a  moment,  and 
then  added,  'I  have  passed  my  life  in  beating  the 
air.'  '' 

Spencer  lived  to  see  Lord  Kelvin  and  Sir  Oliver 
Lodge,  the  men  who  had  come  to  take  the  place  of 
himself  and  Darwin  and  Huxley,  as  the  leading  Eng- 
lish scientists,  as  well  as  Louis  Pasteur  and  Albert 
de  Lapparent,  the  first  scientists  of  France,  not  walk- 
ing in  his  footsteps  but  devoting  their  science  and 
eloquence  to  the  defense  of  religious  faith  and  the 
repudiation  of  agnosticism.  In  his  last  days, 
wheeled  up  and  down  on  the  sands  of  Brighton, 
speaking  to  no  one,  gazing  with  dimmed  eyes  out 
over  the  unfathomable  sea — the  symbol  of  eternity, 
Spencer  realized  sadly  that  the  agnosticism  to  which 
he  had  given  his  life,  had  nothing  to  give  him  in  re- 
turn. Perhaps  as  he  gazed  at  the  far  off  horizon, 
the  kinship  of  its  mystery  with  our  souls  revealed 
the  Infinite  and  the  Eternal  as  a  God  to  be  neither 
unknown  nor  ignored,  but  to  be  recognized  and 
loved  as  the  only  good  that  is  not  shadows.  The 
philosopher  may  have  recalled  the  lines  of  the  poet 
Tennyson,  whose  own  old  age  had  written  "failure" 
across  the  dreams  of  his  youthful  ''Locksley  Hall": 

"I  falter  where  I  firmly  trod, 
And  falling  with  my  weight  of  cares 
Upon  the  great  world's  altar  stairs 
That  slope  through  darkness  up  to  God, 
I  stretch  lame  hands  of  faith,  and  grope, 
And  gather  dust  and  chaff,  and  call 
To  what  I  feel  is  Lord  of  all, 
And  faintly  trust  the  larger  hope." 

True  Rationalists.  The  philosophy  of  the  Chris- 
tian Schools  opposes  itself  to  the  traducers  of  rea- 
son who  distrust  reason 's  power  to  acquire  certainty 
about  anything  beyond  our  own  subjective  states. 
A  worthy  system  of  philosophy  is  not  the  work  of 


HE  WHO  IS  23 

one  man  or  generation.  It  must  take  in  the  experi- 
ence of  the  ages.  The  Christian  or  scholastic  phi- 
losophy, in  its  highest  representative,  Thomas 
Aquinas,  worthily  unites  to  the  inheritance  of  an- 
cient wisdom  as  gathered  in  Aristotle,  the  contribu- 
tion of  Christian  thought.  '*To  Reason,  Aquinas 
assigns  the  indispensable  work  of  laying  down,  sure 
and  firm,  the  road  by  which  alone  we  may  reach  the 
heights  where  we  are  in  a  position  to  make  an  act 
of  faith.  That  Reason  may  successfully  discharge 
this  function,  it  must  be  credited  with  competence 
to  acquire  unto  itself  a  knowledge  which  is  a  faith- 
ful counterpart  of  actual  being.  Its  judgments 
must  be  held  to  be  true  and  certain;  not  merely 
within  the  province  of  transitory  phenomena,  but 
true  beyond  the  range  of  sense  and  space  and  cosmic 
change,  true  absolutely  and  eternally.  This  recog- 
nition of  the  authority  of  Reason  is  the  fundamen- 
taLaffirmation  of  the  Thomistic  philosophy.^*  ^  The 
Christian  schoolmen  are  the  true  rationalists. 

4.    HE  WHO  IS. 

Through  His  works,  men  have  always  known  God 
as  the  First  Cause,  the  onie  necessary,  supreme,  eter- 
nal, infinite  Being.  His  truest  name  is  that 
spoken  to  Moses — "He  Who  Is.'*^  God  is  Absolute 
Being.  Our  mind  may  reason  to  the  truth  that  God 
is  necessary  and  eternal  Being,  existing  in  and  from 
Himself. 

The  First  Cause.  The  contingent  or  created  be- 
ings that  fill  the  world,  presuppose  such  absolute 
being.  They  postulate  uncreated  being  from  which 
they  come  and  upon  which  they  depend.  For  the 
men  and  objects  that  rise  to-day  and  to-morrow  have 

»Jas.  J.  Fox,  Cath.  Univ.  Bulletin,  April,   1908. 
lEx.  3,   14. 


24  GOD 

passed  away;  that  change  with  every  circumstance 
and  season;  that  equally  well  might  be  what  they 
are,  or  might  be  different,  or  might  not  be  at  all,  do 
certainly  depend  for  their  existence  on  something 
outside  of  themselves.  In  the  last  analysis  they 
owe  their  existence  to  some  being  that  is  necessary 
and  eternal.  They  are  caused  by  a  first  and  un- 
caused cause.  They  may  seem,  at  first  glance,  to 
depend  only  on  their  immediate  neighbor,  as  tran- 
sient as  themselves — the  child  on  his  father,  the 
acorn  on  the  oak,  the  planets  on  the  sun.  But  these 
secondary  causes  themselves  had  their  ancestors  in 
the  line  of  being.  However  long  the  chain  of  such 
causes,  it  will  at  last  lead  to  a  first  cause  that  de- 
pends on  nothing ;  that  exists  of  itself ;  that  is  neces- 
sary, existing  eternally  and  without  change ;  that  is 
absolute  being.  This  First  Cause,  this  Eternal  and 
Absolute  Being,  we  call  God. 

The  Master  Mind.  From  the  order  and  fitness  of 
the  universe,  the  existence  of  God  as  an  intelligent 
creator  and  ruler  may  be  inferred.  That  there  is  an 
admirable  order  in  the  universe,  no  one  can  deny 
without  self-contradiction.  For  if  in  nature  there  is 
no  order  or  design,  where  are  order  or  design  to  be 
found?  This  order  and  fitness  of  things  in  nature, 
are  necessarily  the  reflection  of  supreme  intelligence. 
They  reveal  the  existence  of  an  intelligent,  although 
invisible  Master,  as  surely  as  the  exquisite  mechan- 
ism of  a  Swiss  repeater  speaks  of  a  skilled  watch- 
maker; or  the  harmonious  whirring  of  the  compli- 
cated machinery  of  a  Westinghouse  plant  reflects 
the  purposeful  mind  of  a  directing  engineer;  or  the 
lion  of  Lucerne  tells  that  the  soul  of  a  Thorwaldsen 
guided  the  fingers  of  the  sculptor  over  the  chiselled 
stone. 

Indeed  the  evidence  of  design  shown  everywhere 
in  the  constitution  and  government  of  the  world, 


HE  WHO  IS  25 

whether  in  the  organism  of  the  human  body,  in  the 
relations  and  movements  of  the  solar  system,  in  the 
reactions  and  affinities  of  chemistry,  or  in  any  other 
department  of  nature  where  scientific  observation 
reveals  an  adaptation  of  means  to  end  as  admira- 
ble as  it  is  constant,  bespeaks  an  ultimate  intelli- 
gence permeating  and  dominating  with  its  law,  the 
immeasurable  cosmos.  The  Infinite  Intelligence,  as 
the  Eternal  Truth,  is  God. 

Bacon,  one  of  the  first  authors  of  scientific  inves- 
tigation, writes,  in  his  essay  on  Atheism:  ^'I  had 
rather  believe  all  the  fables  in  the  Talmud  and  the 
Alcoran  than  that  this  universal  frame  is  without 
a  mind.  It  is  true  that  a  little  philosophy  inclineth 
men's- minds  to  atheism,  but  depth  in  philosophy 
bringeth  men's  minds  about  to  religion." 

Conscience  and  God.  The  human  conscience  that 
inspires  the  innocent  with  peace  and  the  guilty  with 
remorse  and  terror,  reveals  to  each  individual  his 
own  personal  relation  with  God  as  the  rewarder  of 
right  and  the  punisher  of  evil.  The  moral  prompter 
that  approves  certain  actions  as  lawful  and  con- 
demns others  as  unlawful,  that  restrains  us  from 
the  latter  and  urges  us  to  the  former,  is  not  merely 
reason  itself.  It  is  higher  than  reason  and  ante- 
cedent to  it.  It  is  not  of  his  own  reason  that  man 
is  afraid;  but  of  a  judge  distinct  from  himself,  who 
sees  the  secrets  of  his  heart.  With  the  same  neces- 
sity by  w^hich  he  knows  that  certain  actions  are 
good  and  commended  while  others  are  bad  and  for- 
bidden, he  knows  that  there  is  a  supreme  lawgiver 
and  judge — that  there  is  a  God. 

Cardinal  Newman  seems  to  consider  the  testimony 
of  conscience,  as  do  many  others,  the  most  prac- 
tically powerful  argument  for  the  existence  of  God. 
It  convinces  and  persuades.  Its  clear  voice  is  un- 
derstood by  minds  that  could  not  easily  follow  the 


26  GOD 

subtle  reasoning  of  the  argument  from  causality  or 
design.  Indeed  this  testimony  of  our  nature  to  God 
and  the  soul,  is  so  strong,  that  all  sensible  men  in- 
stinctively revere  religion,  looking  beyond  the  crude 
conceptions  that  are  often  put  forward  as  its  details 
and  applications. 

The  irreverent  scoffer  who  denies  his  faith  in  the 
day  of  prosperity  and  health,  usually  needs  only  the 
cold  breath  of  misfortune  or  the  haggard  specter  of 
death,  to  bring  him  to  his  knees,  begging  mercy  of 
God  for  his  neglected  soul.  History  records  many 
examples  of  unbelievers  turning  to  God  in  the  hour 
of  approaching  death,  when  passion  and  interests 
no  longer  blind  the  reason  and  pervert  human  na- 
ture. It  mentions  no  case  of  the  man  who  walked 
with  God  through  life,  turning  from  Him,  in  unbe- 
lief, in  the  end. 

A  French  priest  was  once  discussing  this  .sub- 
ject with  an  old  schoolfellow  who  had  fallen  away 
from  the  Christian  religion  and  openly  avowed  him- 
self an  atheist. 

**  After  all  your  self-restraint  and  pursuit  of  vir- 
tue,'' said  the  flippant  atheist,  ** won't  it  be  a  joke 
on  you,  if  in  the  end  there  is  no  God  or  he'aven  or 
hell!" 

*^Even  in  your  supposition,''  rejoined  the  priest, 
''self-restraint  and  virtuous  living  are  in  harmony 
with  the  dictates  of  reason  and  make  for  health 
and  happiness  here.  But  will  you  think  over  this 
retort?  After  all  your  profligacy  and  blasphemies 
won't  it  be  a  serious  thing  for  you  if  there  is  a  God 
and  a  heaven  and  hell!" 

Attributes  of  God.  God's  works  proclaim  His  at- 
tributes. The  plan  and  design  manifested  through- 
out His  creation,  whether  in  the  marvelous  laws  of 
the  starry  heavens,  in  our  own  wonderfully  fash- 
ioned human  nature,  in  the  tiny  flower  beneath  our 


HE  WHO  IS  27 

feet,  in  the  vital  slime  of  the  bird's  egg,  or  in  the 
myriad  animalculae  that  swarm  in  a  drop  of  water 
invisible  to  the  naked  eye,  teach  that  the  Creator 
is  mighty  and  wise.  The  abundance  of  necessary 
food  and  raiment,  the  beauty  of  useful  gifts  and 
luxurious  adornments  in  the  world,  bespeak  Him 
provident  and  loving.  The  very  existence  of  the 
world  reveals  His  omnipresence  pervading  all  things 
by  His  essence  and  sustaining  all.  Thus  man  con- 
ceiving of  the  Infinite  Being  under  various  aspects, 
speak  of  His  attributes  or  perfections.  He  is  one, 
eternal,  immense,  unchangeable,  incomprehensible, 
all-wise,  just,  holy,  merciful,  omnipotent,  in- 
effable. 

As  God's  essence  is  identical  with  His  perfections, 
it  would  be  more  true  to  say  that  God  is  Infinite 
Wisdom,  Goodness,  Omnipotence,  Holiness,  Truth, 
than  to  say  that  He  possesses  these  attributes.  They 
are  not  something  distinct  from  Himself,  something 
accessory  and  added  to  His  nature.  Being  identical 
with  the  Divine  Nature,  these  attributes  of  God  are 
not  really  distinct  even  from  one  another.  The  ap- 
parent distinction  exists  only  in  our  minds.  God 
being  infinite,  cannot  be  completely  represented  by 
any  finite  conception.  Consequently  no  thought  rep- 
resents more  than  one  or  other  of  His  perfections. 
Our  representation  of  God  is  imperfect:  it  is  not 
false:  but  it  is  only  partial.  Likewise  the  terms  in 
which  we  speak  of  God  are  inadequate.  We  form 
our  ideas  even  of  divine  things,  from  the  considera- 
tion of  finite  things :  and  we  make  our  words  corre- 
spond to  our  ideas. 

The  names  Infinite  and  Incomprehensible  are  the 
negation  of  any  limit  to  God:  but  they  tell  us  little 
of  His  essence.  The  words  All- Wise  and  All-Boun- 
tiful declare  that  any  perfections  found  in  man  ex- 
ist in  an  infinitely  higher  degree  in  God:  but  they 


28  GOD 

fail  to  express  the  manner  in  which  God  possesses 
these  attributes.  So  in  this  life  it  is  not  given  to 
man  to  behold  God  as  He  is ;  but  only,  as  it  were,  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  the  garments  or  an  echo  of  the 
footsteps  of  the  Divine  Spirit  in  whom  Action  and 
Being  are  one. 

Personality  of  God.  The  fact  that  we  speak  of 
God  as  a  person  begets  a  difficulty  in  some  minds, 
which  generally  arises  from  a  misunderstanding  of 
the  meaning  attached  to  the  word  person.  They 
wrongly  suppose  that  we  thereby  limit  God,  as  all 
human  persons  are  limited,  by  a  body;  and  imagine 
us  guilty  of  an  absurd  anthropomorphism.  When 
orators  and  poets  speak  of  God's  voice,  His  hand, 
His  eye,  of  course  they  expect  their  hearers  to  take 
them  not  literally,  but  as  referring  to  God's  law 
and  power  and  omniscience.  When  philosophers 
speak  of  God  as  a  person,  they  mean  that  He  is  the 
living  Truth  and  the  infinite  Love. 

We  conceive  of  God  as  His  works  reflect  the  na- 
ture and  image  of  their  maker.  God's  noblest  mas- 
terpiece on  earth  is  Man.  Man's  nobility  are  his  in- 
tellect and  will.  Our  highest  acts  are  to  think  and 
to  love.  These  acts  it  is,  that  characterize  us  as 
persons,  and  separate  us  from  the  lower  animals. 
We  are  persons  then,  not  because  we  are  limited  by 
a  body,  but  because  we  are  intelligent  and  free- 
willed.  Doubtless  God  is  all  the  best  that  we  are 
and  infinitely  more.  So  we  rightly  speak  of  God 
in  our  highest  terms  and  say  that  He  is  Intelligence 
to  know  and  Will  to  love,  and  so  a  person.  To  deny 
personality  of  God  would  be  to  make  Him  lower 
than  ourselves.  To  say  that  He  is  a  person  is  true, 
though  His  personality  is  not  human  but  divine; 
though  His  thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts,  but  the 
eternal  truth;  and  His  love  infinitely  surpasses  our 
love  and  gives  life  to  the  world;  and  His  freedom 


HE  WHO  IS  29 

is  His  own  perfection  which  cannot  be  changed  or 
determined  by  external  forces,  because  it  is  of  His 
infinite  substance  and  nature, — His  intelligence  and 
will  being  one  eternal  act  and  essence. 

The  philosopher  aims  to  express  with  some  accu- 
racy his  thoughts  of  God.  Such  expressions  as  the 
Infinite,  the  Ultimate  Reality,  the  First  Cause,  and 
Absolute  Being,  are  true  and  noble  expressions  of 
an  objective  reality.  The  mass  of  men  love  more 
the  words  which  they  have  learned  from  the  poet 
and  prophet,  which  are  warm  with  life,  and  stir  the 
mind  and  heart.  They  love  and  serve  their  Father 
who  is  in  Heaven. 

Pantheism.  Confounding  the  creature  with  the 
Creator,  pantheism  identifies  the  whole  world  with 
God.  It  fails  to  mark  the  essential  difference  be- 
tween the  ever-changing  finite  world  and  the  ever- 
constant  Infinity  that  pei*vades  and  sustains  it. 
Ourselves  and  all  things  good  and  bad,  it  would 
count  to  be  forms  of  God's  own  self.  Howsoever  se- 
ductive, in  the  hands  of  its  ablest  exponents,  may  be 
this  theory,  the  common  sense  of  mankind  tells  us, 
though  God  be  immense  and  everywhere  present 
and  ''in  Him  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being,'' 
that  we  with  all  our  changes  and  imperfections,  are 
not  God,  but  distinct  responsible  creatures,  mani- 
festations of  His  creative  activity. 

Trinity.  Christians  not  only  speak  of  God's  per- 
sonality, but  believe  that  in  the  one  God  this  person- 
ality is  three-fold.  We  speak  of  the  Eternal  Father, 
the  Divine  Son,  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  distinct  persons ; 
though  they  are  the  one  and  same  identical,  indi- 
visible, divine  substance  or  nature,  the  one  only  God. 
The  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  in  giving  us  even  a 
glimpse  of  this  mystery,  enriches  us  with  a  surpass- 
ingly great  truth.  This  truth  of  the  Trinity  sheds 
light  on  the  mystery  of  Christ's  own  being.    It  gives 


30  GOD 

us  a  knowledge  which  reason  alone  would  never 
have  discovered.  And  it  raises  our  appreciation  of 
the  fact  that  the  Divine  Being  is  a  mystery  where 
larger  knowledge  shows  but  deeper  depths. 

The  truth  underlying  our  dim  conception  of  the 
Trinity,  great  minds  have  endeavored  to  illustrate 
from  the  faculties  of  the  human  soul  and  the  mutual 
relation  of  their  actions.  Man  knows  himself  and 
by  that  act  of  intelligence  generates  the  thought 
which  is  the  mental  image  of  himself.  From  these 
two  things,  the  act  of  intelligence  and  the  thought 
or  mental  word  which  it  has  generated,  proceeds 
the  act  by  which  man  loves  himself.  The  simile 
employed  to  illustrate,  however  imperfectly,  the 
mystery  of  the  Trinity,  is  suggested  by  the  Scrip- 
tures which  reveal  the  divine  Son  as  the  Logos  or 
Word,  and  the  third  person  of  the  Trinity  as  the 
divine  Spirit,  a  word  suggesting  the  impulse  of  the 
will.  In  man,  intelligence  and  will  are  merely  fac- 
ulties of  the  soul,  and  their  motions  end  in  transient 
acts.  In  God,  whose  acts  are  eternal  and  identical 
with  the  divine  essence,  the  acts  by  which  the  Father 
begets  the  divine  Word,  and  the  mutual  love  of  the 
divine  Father  and  Son  from  which  proceeds  the  di- 
vine Spirit,  are  not  transient  but  eternal,  and  have 
as  their  result,  the  divine  persons,  distinct  in  rela- 
tion, yet  one  in  substance  and  nature.  The  Father, 
Son  and  Holy  Ghost  are  the  triune  God. 

Trinities  in  Nature.  Men  have  observed  many 
curious  trinities  cast  all  over  the  creation,  which 
seemed  to  some,  the  signature  of  the  triune  Creator 
upon  His  handiwork.  While  these  apparent  reflec- 
tions of  the  triune  nature  of  God  would  never  of 
themselves  lead  us  to  a  knowledge  of  that  fact,  as 
some  have  suggested,  still,  like  St.  Patrick's  sham- 
rock, they  may  help  us  to  apprehend  the  inscrutable 
mystery  after  it  has  been  revealed.    We  have  al- 


HE  WHO  IS  31 

ready  noticed  this  image  in  the  three-fold  relation 
of  the  human  soul. 

Again  we  reproduce  ourselves  in  our  thoughts 
when  we  are  self-conscious,  and  call  our  thoughts 
the  children  of  the  mind,  and  naming  them  with 
words,  send  them  out  into  the  world,  and  knowing 
them  as  our  own  generation,  love  them  as  our  very 
self.  Philosophy  and  literature  consider  being  in 
the  three-fold  relation  of  the  good,  the  true  and  the 
beautiful.  In  physics  the  ray  of  white  light  break- 
ing on  a  prism  rt^veals  three  primary  colors.  Mathe- 
matics has  its  three  dimensions.  Chemistry  ex- 
plores the  mineral,  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms. 
Matter  exists  in  time,  space  and  motion.  Again 
time  has  the  triple  relation  of  the  past,  present  and 
future ;  space,  of  length,  breadth  and  depth ;  motion, 
of  direction,  distance  and  velocity. 

Revelation.  Plato,  whose  mind  rose  to  such  sub- 
limity that  Clement  of  Alexandria  fancied  that,  in  a 
way,  he  was  to  the  Greeks  what  Moses  was  to  the 
Jews,  was  thought  by  some  to  have  had  a  vague  idea 
of  the  triune  nature  of  the  Deity.  This  is  not  prob- 
able, since  only  divine  revelation  could  afford  man 
a  glimpse  of  that  mystery.  To  catch  a  glimpse  of 
a  truth  even  with  heaven's  light,  is  not  to  compre- 
hend it.  The  child  seen  by  St.  Augustine  on  the  sea- 
shore, will  never  pour  with  his  shell,  all  the  waters 
of  the  ocean  into  the  hole  he  has  dug  in  the  sand. 
And  man  will  never  pour  the  infinite  ocean  of  God's 
Being  into  the  shallow  basin  of  his  human  mind. 
But  we  rejoice  to  know  even  dimly;  and  think  of 
God  the  divine  Father  as  creating  and  sustaining 
us;  of  God  the  divine  Wisdom  as  redeeming  and 
governing  us;  of  God  the  divine  Spirit  as  dwelling 
within  us  and  sanctifying  us. 

The  divine  Creator  has  never  left  the  world  with- 
out a  witness  of  Himself.     He  is  revealed  in  the 


32  GOD 

mighty  forces  of  nature  working  with  unerring  law. 
He  is  revealed  much  more  in  the  human  mind  whose 
thoughts  compass  the  stars  and  the  winds,  and  in 
the  human  heart  that  loves.  Our  Father,  who  is  as 
mighty  as  He  is  wise  and  loving,  has  revealed  Him- 
self to  His  children  even  more  directly  than  through 
the  visible  things  of  creation,  and  has  made  known 
the  supernatural  destiny  to  which  He  has  called 
them.  History  tells  us,  in  its  story  of  paganism's 
dim  groping  after  God,  and  fallen  man's  failure  to 
lead  even  a  worthy  human  life,  the  sore  need  there 
was  of  a  supernatural  revelation  tb  teach  man  the 
destiny  to  which  he  had  been  called  and  from  which 
he  had  fallen.  Man's  most  exalted  dreams  would 
never  have  conceived  of  the  revelation  which  God 
has  actually  made;  the  sublimity  of  His  message, 
the  dignity  of  His  messenger,  the  destined  union 
of  man  with  God  even  to  our  participating  in  His 
divine  nature.  This  supernatural  revelation  is  per- 
fected through  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER  III 

JESUS  CHRIST 
5.    WHAT  MEN  THINK  OF  CHRIST. 

Every  great  mind  that  has  lived  since  the  coming 
of  Jesus  Christ,  has  been  engaged  with  thought  of 
Him.  He  has  towered  in  the  world  as  its  central 
figure;  so  human  that  the  lowliest  and  the  poor  are 
at  home  with  Him;  so  divine  that  the  greatest  and 
best  have  looked  up  to  Him  as  to  an  unapproachable 
ideal.  His  influence  has  so  penetrated  the  civilized 
world  that  He  cannot  be  ignored.  Men  have  felt 
that  they  must  reckon  with  Him  and  account  for 
Him.  The  highest  genius  in  every  department  of 
thought  has  bowed  to  Jesus  Christ.  Poets  and  sci- 
entists, artists  and  philosophers,  statesmen  and  war- 
riors have  paid  their  tribute  of  loving  adoration  to 
His  acknowledged  divinity  or  of  silent  reverence 
before  the  mystery  of  His  personality. 

Poets.  Shakespeare,  in  his  many-sided  splendor 
the  greatest  glory  of  our  literature,  ever  couples 
with  the  name  of  Jesus  the  attributes  of  the  Divine 
One;  and  weaves  that  name  into  the  verse  which 
marks  his  tomb  in  the  parish  church  at  Stratford- 
on-Avon.  Dante  and  Milton,  the  two  supreme  epic 
poets  since  His  time,  found  in  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ,  their  inspiration  and  their  theme.  The  Span- 
ish Calderon  and  Lope  de  Vega,  the  French  Cor- 
neille  and  Racine,  the  American  Longfellow,  the 
Polish  Michkiewicz,  immortal  bards  of  their  nations, 


34  JESUS  CHRIST 

have  sung  their  divine  Christus.  In  spite  of  his 
aberrations,  from  the  faith  of  his  childhood,  Goethe 
is  constrained  to  say:  ''I  esteem  the  gospels  to  be 
thoroughly  genuine,  for  there  shines  forth  from  them 
the  reflected  splendor  of  a  sublimity  proceeding 
from  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  so  divine  a  kind 
as  only  the  Divine  could  ever  have  manifested  on 
earth. ' '  His  brother  poet,  Jean  Paul  Richter,  writes 
that  "the  life  of  Christ  concerns  Him  who  being  the 
holiest  among  the  mighty  and  the  mightiest  among 
the  holy,  lifted  with  His  pierced  hands  empires  from 
off  their  hinges,  and  turned  the  stream  of  centuries 
out  of  its  channel,  and  still  governs  the  ages." 

Scientists.  The  greatest  geniuses  of  science,  like 
Galileo,  Newton,  Bacon,  Kepler,  set  the  name  of  Je- 
sus above  every  other,  as  the  name  by  which  man 
may  be  saved.  Indeed  the  roll  of  honor  of  the  nat- 
ural sciences  is  a  catalogue  replete  with  Christian 
names.  Pasteur,  its  brightest  light  in  our  day,  lived 
a  life  whose  every  action  was  influenced  by  the  re- 
ligion of  Jesus  Christ,  and  died  clasping  the  cruci- 
fix, the  symbol  of  his  faith  and  hope. 

Art.  Jesus  Christ  has  inspired  the  noblest 
achievements  of  art,  be  it  in  architecture,  painting, 
sculpture,  music.  The  builders  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
finding  expression  for  the  popular  faith  in  their 
mighty  cathedrals,  taught  the  very  stones  to  cry 
out  and  proclaim  the  divinity  of  Christ  in  the  splen- 
did eloquence  of  Roman  and  Gothic  architecture. 
The  infant  Christ  is  the  theme  of  RaphaePs  "Sistine 
Madonna"  and  Murillo's  ''Holy  Family";  the  suf-^ 
fering  Christ,  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci's  "Last  Supper" 
and  Guido  Reni's  "Ecce  Homo";  the  triumphant 
Christ,  of  the  "Transfiguration"  and  the  "Last 
Judgment."  The  chaste  limbs  of  Christ,  in  the 
Crucifixion,  the  Pieta,  the  Resurrection,  have  sanc- 
tified sculpture  in  the  marbles  of  Pisano,  Canova 


WHAT  MEN  THINK  OF  CHRIST-  35 

and  Michael  Angelo.  This  last  master,  when  he 
would  build  St.  Peter's  at  Home,  said:  *'I  will 
raise  the  Pantheon  in  the  air,  to  be  the  canopy  of  the 
altar  of  Jesus  Christ."  Beneath  that  canopy  and 
round  the  altars  of  Christ,  whose  golden  zone  of 
chalices  encircles  the  world,  are  heard  the  majestic 
tones  of  the  Gregorian  chant,  the  heavenly  har- 
monies of  Palestrina,  the  Masses  and  Vespers  and 
Oratorios  and  mighty  old  hymns  of  the  masters  of 
music.  And  always  the  inspiration  is  the  mystery 
of  Bethlehem,  the  mystery  of  Calvary,  the  mystery 
of  Easter,  the  mystery  of  humanity  made  one  with 
God:  Credo  in  Deum  et  in  Jesum  Christum  filium 
ejus  unigenitum,  I  believe  in  God  and  in  Jesus 
Christ  His  one  begotten  Son. 

Philosophers.  The  worshipers  of  the  True  as  well 
as  of  the  Beautiful,  have  felt  the  transcendent  power 
of  Jesus  Christ.  No  great  philosopher  has  passed 
Him  in  silence.  In  every  age,  supreme  intellects 
have  believed  that  in  Christ  they  found  the  Incarna- 
tion of  divine  Wisdom  and  have  cast  their  lot  with 
Him  as  with  the  living  Truth.  Saul  of  Tarsus,  Cy- 
prian of  Carthage,  Augustine  of  Hippo,  Anselm  of 
Canterbury,  Thomas  of  Aquin,  are  not  only  sages  but 
saints. 

Philosophers  alien  to  the  common  faith  in  the 
mystery  of  the  Son  of  God,  still  admit  that  mystery 
there  is;  and  have  bowed  in  reverence  before  it. 
Spinoza  calls  Christ  the  symbol  of  divine  wisdom. 
Kant  and  Jacobi  hold  Him  up  as  the  figure  of  ideal 
perfection.  Schelling  and  Hegel  vaguely  discern  in 
Him  the  ** union  of  the  hiiman  and  the  divine." 
Carlyle  calls  Jesus  "our  divinest  symbol."  Chan- 
ning  confesses  that  **the  character  of  Jesus  is  wholly 
inexplicable  on  human  principles."  ''How  petty 
are  the  books  of  the  philosophers  with  all  their 
pomp,"  says  Rousseau,  ''compared  with  the   Gos- 


36  JESUS  CHRIST 

pels.  Can  He  whose  life  they  tell  be  no  more  than 
a  mere  man?  If  the  life  and  death  of  Socrates  be 
those  of  a  sage,  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus  are  those 
of  a  God."  ''Even  to  the  end  of  time,"  writes 
Fichte,  ' '  all  wise  and  reverent  men  must  bow  them- 
selves before  Jesus  of  Nazareth:  and  the  more  wise, 
intelligent,  and  noble  they  themselves  are,  the  more 
humbly  will  they  recognize  the  exceeding  nobleness 
of  this  great  and  glorious  manifestation  of  the  Di- 
vine Life." 

Statesmen.  The  statesmen  of  the  Christian  era 
whose  services  to  their  country  have  merited  for 
them  the  title  ''great,"  are  men  who  accepted  Jesus 
Christ  as  their  divine  teacher.  Constantine  the 
Great,  Justinian,  Charlemagne,  Alfred  the  Great,  St. 
Louis  of  France,  Peter  the  Great,  built  up  the  glory 
of  their  states  on  the  principles  of  Christian  faith, 
Charles  V  who  ruled  more  kingdoms  than  any  other 
European  monarch,  passed  his  last  days  in  the  pray- 
erful retirement  of  a  monastery.  Of  Daniel 
0 'Council  could  be  said,  what  Gladstone  wrote  of 
himself,  that  the  divinity  of  Christ  was  the  inspira- 
tion of  all  his  public  measures.  The  Christian  prin- 
ciples of  George  Washington  raise  him  to  a  different 
class  from  the  irreligious  revolutionists  of  the 
French  reign  of  terror.  In  our  own  day,  statesmen 
like  Woodrow  Wilson  and  Theodore  Roosevelt  in 
America,  Kaiser  Wilhelm  in  Germany,  Carl  Lueger 
in  Austria,  John  Redmond  in  Ireland,  believe,  with 
millions  of  the  brightest  and  best  in  every  land,  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  divine  Son  of  the  Eternal  God. 

On  the  tomb  of  Daniel  Webster  is  the  following 
inscription,  written  by  the  statesman  himself: 
"Lord,  I  believe;  help  Thou  mine  unbelief.  Philo- 
sophical argument,  especially  that  drawn  from  the 
vastness  of  the  universe,  in  comparison  with  the  ap- 
parent insignificance  of  this  globe,  has  sometimes 


WHAT  MEN  THINK  OF  CHRIST  37 

shaken  my  reason  for  the  faith  that  there  is  in  me; 
but  my  heart  has  always  assured  and  reassured  me 
that  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  must  be  a  divine 
reality.  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  can  not  be  a 
merely  human  production.  This  belief  enters  into 
the  very  depth  of  my  conscience.  The  whole  his- 
tory of  man  proves  it."  Webster's  fellow  orator, 
William  Jennings  Bryan,  writes  of  Christ:  ''It  is 
easier  to  believe  Him  divine,  than  to  explain  in  any 
other  way,  what  He  said,  and  did,  and  w^as." 

Napoleon  and  Christ.  The  first  Napoleon  has  left 
on  record  a  tribute  to  Jesus  Christ  worthy  of  his 
discerning  genius.  Conversing  one  day  at  St.  Hel- 
ena, about  the  great  men  of  antiquity,  and  compar- 
ing them  with  himself,  he  suddenly  turned  to  an  of- 
ficer who  shared  his  exile,  and  asked:  ''Can  you 
tell  us  who  Jesus  Christ  is?''  The  officer  excused 
himself,  saying  that  in  his  busy  life  he  had  given 
little  time  or  thought  save  to  his  profession  of  arms. 
"And  here  on  this  rock  that  is  consuming  us  both,'' 
replied  Napoleon  thoughtfully,  "you  cannot  tell  me 
who  Jesus  Christ  is!  Well,  I  shall  tell  you!"  He 
then  proceeded  to  compare  Jesus  with  the  heroes  of 
history  and  with  himself,  and  to  show  how  Jesus 
surpassed  all.  "I  think  I  understand  something  of 
human  nature,"  he  continued.  "I  know  men;  and 
I  tell  you  all  these  were  men,  and  I  am  a  man,  but 
not  one  is  like  Him.  Jesus  Christ  was  more  than  a 
man.  Alexander,  CaBsar,  Charlemagne,  and  myself 
founded  empires;. but  our  creations  depended  upon 
force.  Jesus  Christ  alone  founded  His  empire  upon 
love:  and  to  this  day  millions  would  die  for  Him. 
Yet  in  this  absolute  sovereignty,  He  has  but  one 
aim,  the  spiritual  perfection  of  the  individual,  the 
purification  of  his  conscience,  his  union  with  what 
is  true,  the  salvation  of  his  soul.  Men  wonder  at 
the  conquests  of  Alexander :  but  here  is  a  conqueror 


38  JESUS  CHRIST 

who  draws  men  to  Himself  for  their  highest  good, 
and  who  unites  to  Himself,  not  a  nation,  but  the 
whole  human  race/' 

6.    WHAT  CHRIST  SAYS  OF  HIMSELF. 

What  does  Jesus  Christ  say  of  Himself?  Did  He 
know  the  mystery  of  His  own  personality  ?  Did  He 
reveal  it  to  others  ?  The  answer  is,  that  He  was  not 
only  conscious  of  His  unique  position,  but  spoke  out 
most  plainly  concerning  it.  By  His  words  and  His 
works,  He  impressed  His  most  intimate  associates, 
both  His  friends  and  His  enemies,  with  His  convic- 
tion of  His  own  divine  nature. 

His  Disciples.  To  the  Master's  question,  ''Who 
do  men  say  that  the  Son  of  Man  is?''  the  Apostles 
reported  the  opinions  of  the  populace.  Some  be- 
lieved Jesus  to  be  John  the  Baptist,  others  Elias  or 
Jeremias  or  one  of  the  prophets.  The  people  felt 
there  was  something  supernatural  about  Jesus  and 
associated  Him  in  their  minds,  with  the  religious 
heroes  of  their  race.  When  Jesus  asked  the  Apos- 
tles, "but  who  do  you  say  that  I  am?"  Simon  an- 
swered and  said :  * '  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  living  God."  Jesus  endorses  this  faith  with  the 
words:  ''Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar  Jona,  for 
flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  to  thee,  but  my 
Father  who  is  in  Heaven. ' '  ^ 

The  disciple  Thomas  adored  the  risen  Savior 
with  the  words:  "My  Lord  and  my  God."  Jesus 
accepted  the  divine  homage  with  the  admonition: 
"Be  not  henceforth  incredulous  but  believing."^ 

St.  Paul  devoted  his  splendid  genius  to  the  work 
of  Jesus  Christ,  declaring:  "For  in  Him  dwelleth 
the  fullness  of  the  God-head  bodily."^ 

When  John  the  Baptist  pointed  out  Jesus  to  his 

»Mt.  16,  15.  2  John  20,  28.  «  Col.  2,  9. 


WHAT  CHRIST  SAYS  OF  HIMSELF        39 

followers,  with  the  words:  ** Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world.  He  it 
is  who  Cometh  after  me;  who  is  preferred  before 
me;  the  latchet  of  whose  shoe  I  am  unworthy  to 
loose ^':  they  followed  Jesus,  telling  their  friends, 
**We  have  found  the  Messiah. '^  And  Jesus  ac- 
cepted them  as  disciples.* 

That  their  Master  was  God  Incarnate,  was  the 
conviction  of  the  followers  of  Jesus,  as  is  evidenced 
by  the  Gospel  according  to  John.  Jesus  is  identified 
with  the  Eternal  Wisdom, — the  Logos  or  divine 
Word  which  from  eternity  was  with  God  and  was 
God;  through  which  all  things  were  made;  which 
is  the  life  and  the  light  of  men;  which  in  the  human 
nature  of  Jesus  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  amongst 
us,  and  gives  to  all  who  receive  Him  the  power  to 
become  the  sons  of  God.^ 

His  Enemies.  The  enemies  of  Jesus,  as  well  as 
His  friends,  underetand  Him  to  proclaim  Himself 
the  Messiah  or  Christ,  the  Anointed  One  of  God, 
who  was  to  come  to  save  the  world ;  the  promise  and 
expectation  of  whom  is  the  theme  of  the  old  Hebrew 
Scriptures.  Far  from  disabusing  them  of  this  idea, 
Jesus  gave  His  words,  His  works  and  finally  His  life, 
in  support  of  its  truth. 

When  asked,  ''Art  thou  he  who  is  to  come,  or  do 
we  expect  another?*'  Jesus  had  answered:  ''Go  and 
relate  the  things  you  have  seen  and  heard :  the  blind 
see,  the  lame  walk,  lepers  are  cleansed,  the  deaf  hear, 
the  dead  rise  again,  the  poor  have  the  Gospel 
preached  to  them.''®  Later  when  the  Jews  de- 
manded: "If  thou  be  the  Christ,  tell  us  plainly'': 
Jesus  again  appealed  to  these  works  in  corrobora- 
tion of  His  words,  saying:  "Though  you  believe 
not  me,  believe  the  works,  that  you  may  know  and 
believe  that  the  Father  is  in  me  and  I  in  Him." 

*John  1,  26-42.  ^John  1,  1-14.  'Mt.  11,  2. 


40  JESUS  CHRIST 

The  affirmation  at  which  the  Jews  had  rebelled,  v/a:^>  : 
**the  Father  and  I  are  one.''^ 

On  this  and  other  occasions,  as  in  His  encounter 
with  the  Jews  about  the  Sabbath,*  and  His  claim 
to  have  existed  before  Abraham  was  born,^  the  Jews 
''took  up  stones  to  cast  at  Him,"  because  as  they 
said,  ' '  being  a  man  thou  makest  thyself  God. ' '  ^^ 
Thus  His  enemies  understood  Jesus  to  speak  of  Him- 
self. When  He  said  of  Abraham — who  had  lived 
some  2,000  years  before  Christ's  appearance  on 
earth — ''before  Abraham  was  made,  I  am,"  the  Jews 
caught  the  contrast  between  His  own  claim  of  un- 
created being  and  the  creation  of  their  national  pa- 
triarch; and  understood  His  eternal  I  AM,  as  a 
synonym  of  Deity. ' '  ^^  Some  critics  contend  that  Je- 
sus withdrew  His  claim  and  placed  Himself  in  the 
same  class  as  His  hearers  who  are  as  God  because 
they  receive  the  word  of  God.  On  the  contrary, 
Jesus  differentiates  Himself  from  them,  saying  that 
if  they  are  so  called,  a  fortiori  is  He  free  from  blas- 
phemy in  so  calling  Himself.^- 

In  His  trial  before  Caiphas,  the  High  Priest  re- 
ferring to  the  charges  brought  against  Jesus,  de- 
manded of  Him:  "I  adjure  thee  by  the  living  God, 
to  tell  us  if  thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God." 
The  question  reveals  that  the  people  understood 
Jesus  as  claiming  to  be  the  Messiah,  the  long  ex- 
pected Christ.  The  question  was  clearly  put  and 
excluded  all  subterfuge.  The  answer  of  Jesus  was 
no  less  precise :  ' '  Thou  hast  said  it.  I  am. ' '  ^^  Its 
significance  was  fully  realized.  The  High  Priest 
tore  his  garment,  exclaiming:  "He  has  blasphemed: 
He  is  guilty  of  death."  Jesus  was  taken  to  Pilate 
with  the  accusation:     "We  have  a  law;  and  accord- 

7  John  10,  24-39.  "Ex.   3,   14. 

8  John,    5,    18.  12  John    10,    34-36. 

»John  8,  58.  "  ^t.  26,  63;  Mk.  14,  62;   Luke  22,  71. 

10  John  10,   33. 


DILEMMA  OP  UNBELIEVERS  41 

ing  to  the  law,  He  ought  to  die,  because  He  made 
Himself  the  Son  of  God."  And  for  this  truth  Jesus 
died. 

7.    DILEMMA   OF   UNBELIEVERS. 

In  view  of  the  esteem  in  which,  after  1900  years  of 
scrutiny,  the  greatest  minds  of  the  race  hold  the 
character  and  influence  of  Jesus  Christ,  a  dilemma 
is  forced  upon  the  unbeliever  when  he  considers  the 
idea  Jesus  had  of  Himself  and  communicated  to 
His  associates.  If  Jesus  is  not  the  God-Man,  what 
is  He  ?  To  attack  the  testimony  that  Christ  gives  of 
Himself,  is  to  suppose  either  that  through  lack 
of  intelligence  He  could,  in  good  faith,  be  mistaken 
about  His  own  nature;  or  else  that  through  lack 
of  sincerity,  He  intended  to  deceive  others.  In 
either  case  Jesus  -would  sink  to  the  lowest  level. 
He  would  be  either  a  designing  knave  or  a  mis- 
taken fool.  A  great  man  may  be  mistaken  in  many 
things  and  still  be  both  honest  and  wise.  But  to  be 
deluded  with  the  hallucination  that  he  was  God, 
would  leave  a  man  neither  wise  nor  great:  while  to 
lead  others  into  such  an  error,  without  sharing  it 
himself,  would  be  the  most  monstrous  imposture. 
Is  Jesus  Christ  the  knave  or  fool,  whichever  it  be, 
of  the  logical  infidel,  or  is  He  the  Messiah  of  the 
Christian?  As  Jesus  presents  Himself  to  the  world. 
He  must  be  all  or  He  must  be  nothing.  He  must 
crumble  into  dust  or  we  must  fall  at  His  feet. 

Ad  Absurdum.  Is  it  probable  that  the  one  ideal 
character  which  the  human  race  has  produced, 
should  be  likewise  its  supreme  impostor?  or  that 
the  most  civilized  peoples  have  bowed  down  before 
a  delirious  dreamer,  their  proudest  spirits  counting 
themselves  unworthy  to  be  named  with  him?  Is  it 
credible  that  the  influence  which  through  the  ages 


42  JESUS  CHRIST 

has  been  most  beneficent,  inspiring  every  virtue  and 
every  loving  service,  should  be  the  memory  of  a  de- 
ceiver? or  that  the  teachings  which  have  been  cher- 
ished as  the  highest  wisdom  and  a  revelation  from 
God,  should  be  the  ravings  of  a  madman?  Is  not 
such  a  supposition  an  affront  to  the  sanity  of  the 
race  ?  a  turning  into  a  Babel  of  confusion  of  our  no- 
blest history  and  highest  aspirations?  It  is  true 
that  infidelity  seldom  has  the  hardihood  to  follow 
its  principles  to  these  logical  conclusions.  But  it 
avoids  them  only  by  stopping  short  of  accounting 
to  itself  for  the  mystery  of  Christ,  whose  claim  of 
divinity  it  denies. 

Role  of  Divinity.  If  Jesus  was  not  divine.  He 
needlessly  created  for  Himself  unaccountable  difi&- 
culties  in  making  such  a  claim.  Thenceforth  it  be- 
comes necessary  that  in  all  His  actions  He  should 
sustain  the  role  of  Divinity.  Even  in  His  death,  He 
must  afford  proof  of  this  divine  nature.  Was  this 
humanly  possible?  No  historical  personage  before 
or  since,  has  set  himself  up  as  God.  It  is  the  first 
and  last  time  in  history.  Man  is  not  capable  of  ut- 
tering so  bold  a  falsehood.  The  title  of  Prophet  or 
Messenger  of  God  would  perhaps  have  been  probable 
and  serviceable.  But  the  title  of  very  God  added 
nothing  but  difficulties  to  His  enterprise. 

Does  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ  sustain  this  role 
of  Divinity  which  He  assumed?  Or  does  He  at 
times,  as  the  impostor  sooner  or  later  must,  fall  be- 
neath the  sublime  in  His  thoughts ;  reveal  the  weak- 
ness of  the  human  heart  in  His  feelings ;  grow  fright- 
ened at  the  temerity  of  His  own  claims;  lose  confi- 
dence in  Himself  and  hesitate  in  His  actions ;  and  so 
betray  Himself  ?  No !  Absolute  confidence  in  Him- 
self never  failed  Him  for  a  single  hour.  His  very 
forbearance  to  employ  any  of  the  ordinary  human 
meens — ^politics,  power,  schools  of  philosophy  or  sci- 


THE  RESURRECTION  43 

ence — to  insure  the  success  of  His  work,  proves  His 
inflexible  resolution  and  the  omnipotent  energy  of 
His  will. 

Meantime  His  heart  was  open  to  men  as  the  sanc- 
tuary of  tenderness  and  purity :  and  after  1900  years 
of  scrutiny,  it  cannot  be  said  that  it  ever  fell  below 
the  divinest  ideals ;  much  less  that  it  was  ever  domi- 
nated or  even  disturbed  by  an  unworthy  impulse. 
He  challenged  the  world  to  convict  Him  of  sin ;  and 
in  His  presence  alone,  calumny  and  envy  are  silent. 
His  intelligence  is  sublime — not  as  of  even  the  great- 
est men,  half  a  dozen  times  in  a  whole  life — but  with 
a  continuous  elevation.  He  reveals  His  conceptions 
of  the  Deity  and  of  moral  life.  They  are  not  the 
affectations  of  the  pretender  who  might  have  pre- 
sented, as  his  model  of  divine  dignity,  the  Jupiter 
Tonans  of  the  Pagans.  The  conceptions  of  Jesus 
are  at  once  most  simple  and  most  profound. 
Though  unthought  of  by  men  until  revealed  by 
Him,  they  are  universally  recognized  as  incompara- 
bly vital  and  true — the  worthy  revelation  of  the  di- 
vine. 

8.    THE  RESURRECTION. 

As  an  evidence  of  His  divinity,  Jesus  continually 
appealed  to  His  resurrection,  in  whicn  miracle  He 
wished,  as  it  were,  to  summarize  His  credentials. 
Investigation  of  this  historical  fact  indeed  reveals  it 
as  proof  comprising  in  itself  all  the  other  evidences 
of  Christ's  divine  mission.  St.  Paul  was  ready  to 
stake  everything  on  its  testimony:  *'If  Christ  be 
not  risen,  your  faith  is  also  vain. ' '  ^  Those  who 
would  call  into  question  the  divinity  of  Christ,  seek 
to  discredit  the  resurrection.  Unable  to  controvert 
the  evidence  of  the  Savior's  life  and  acts  after  His 

^Cor.   15,   14. 


44  JESUS  CHRIST 

crucifixion,  Strauss  had  recourse  to  the  desperate 
expedient  of  denying  the  reality  of  the  death  on  the 
cross.  Renan  concedes  that  Jesus  actually  died  on 
the  cross,  but  asserts  that  Magdalen  was  the  dupe  of 
a  fervid  imagination  in  declaring  that  she  saw  the 
risen  Lord.  The  French  infidel  seemed  to  forget 
that  Magdalen  was  only  one  witness  among  hundreds 
who,  under  a  variety  of  circumstances,  beheld  the 
risen  Christ.  Harnack  and  some  of  the  Modernists 
admit  the  death  of  Jesus  and  the  belief  of  His  dis- 
ciples in  the  resurrection;  while  they  urge  that  it 
was  only  a  spiritual  resurrection,  true  indeed  in  faith 
but  not  in  history.  Thus  one  antagonistic  theory 
contradicts  another. 

Doubt.  The  following  incident  related  of  one  of 
the  disciples  of  Jesus,  makes  us  the  more  ready  to 
believe  their  writings — viewed  even  humanly  as 
mere  historical  documents — when  they  record  the 
facts  of  the  first  Easter  Sunday. 

^'Now  Thomas,  one  of  the  twelve,  was  not  with 
them  when  Jesus  came.  The  other  disciples  there- 
fore said  to  him:  'We  have  seen  the  Lord.'  But  he 
said  to  them:  'Except  I  shall  see  in  His  hands  the 
print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger  into  the 
place  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  hand  into  His 
side,  I  will  not  believe. '  And  after  eight  days  again 
His  disciples  were  within,  and  Thomas  with  them. 
Jesus  Cometh,  the  doors  being  shut,  and  stood  in  the 
midst,  and  said:  'Put  in  thy  finger  hither,  and  see 
my  hands ;  and  bring  hither  thy  hand  and  put  it  into 
my  side;  and  be  not  faithless  but  believing.' 
Thomas  answered  and  said  to  Him:  'My  Lord  and 
my  God!  '"^ 

Though  Jesus  had  foretold  His  resurrection,  and 
thus  His  disciples  might  have  been  somewhat  pre- 
pared for  that  event,  Thomas  was  not  the  only  one 

2  John  20,  24-29. 


THE  RESURRECTION  45 

who  hesitated,  till  forced  by  the  evidence  of  his 
own  senses,  to  believe  that  the  Master  whom  he 
had  seen  expire  on  the  cross  and  buried  in  the  tomb, 
had  indeed  risen  from  the  dead  and  was  again  liv- 
ing and  speaking  with  men.  So  far  were  they  from 
being  over-creduloiis,  that  when  the  first  reports  of 
the  resurrection  reached  the  Apostles,  they  regarded 
them  as  dreams  and  did  not  believe  them.^  Even 
when  certain  of  the  Apostles  actually  saw  the  risen 
Christ  and  spoke  with  Ilim,  they  would  hardly  trust 
their  own  eyes;  and  could  find  little  credence  with 
their  brethren.* 

Evidence.  Yet  in  spite  of  this  skepticism  which 
refused  to  believe  till  convinced  by  indisputable 
proofs,  all  of  the  Apostles  were  soon  rejoicing  in  the 
triumph  over  death  of  their  Master,  and  proclaim- 
ing His  resurrection  as  an  evidence  of  His  divinity 
and  of  the  truth  of  His  teachings.  They  had  beheld 
the  indisputable  proofs  and  were  convinced.  They 
had  seen  the  Savior:  and  the  circumstances  under 
which  Christ  appeared  after  His  resurrection  prove 
that  the  disciples  were  not  deceived.  He  was  seen 
not  only  by  the  Apostles  °  but  by  many,  even  by 
more  than  five  hundred  brethren  at  once.  He  ap- 
peared not  once  only,  but  repeatedly  during  forty 
days,  till  His  ascension.  He  spoke  and  ate  with  His 
disciples  and  showed  them  the  marks  of  His  wounds 
and  commanded  them  to  touch  those  sacred  scars. 

Even  the  enemies  of  Christ  had  unwittingly  taken 
measures  that  proved  further  evidence  to  establish 
the  fact  of  His  resurrection.  They  made  certain 
that  he  was  really  dead  before  they  allowed  His 
body  to  be  taken  from  the  cross ;  even  going  to  the 
excess  of  piercing  His  body  with  a  spear,  after  hav- 
ing   pronounced    Him    dead.^     Moreover,    knowing 

»  Luke  24,   11 ;   Mk.   16,  11.  *  Luke  24,  37. 

«John  20,  19-26;  Mk.  16,  14;  Mt.  28,  16-18;  I  Cor.  15,  6;  Acts,  1, 
1-9. 

«John    19,    34. 


46  JESUS  CHRIST 

that  Jesus  had  prophesied  that  He  would  rise  after 
three  days,  as  a  precaution  against  the  possibility  of 
His  body  being  stolen  by  His  friends  or  of  any  other 
deception,  influential  Jews  had  demanded  of  Pilate 
that  a  guard  of  Roman  soldiers  be  stationed  at  the 
grave/  In  spite  of  the  guard  of  soldiers,  and  the 
stone  barriers  of  the  tomb,  an3  the  icy  grip  of  death, 
Jesus  came  forth  on  Easter  morn  to  the  astonishment 
even  of  His  Apostles;  manifesting  His  divinity  by 
the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy  and  by  the  display  of 
the  miraculous  power  to  which  He  had  repeatedly 
appealed  as  the  final  credential  of  His  mission.^ 

Faith.  The  fact  of  the  resurrection  with  its  sig- 
nificance for  Christian  faith,  has  providentially  come 
down  to  us  proved  by  evidence  adequate  to  such  a 
mightily  important  event.  The  Apostles  were  intel- 
ligent and  reliable  eye-witnesses  of  the  risen  Lord. 
Their  slowness  to  believe  the  marvel  except  upon 
the  evidence  of  their  own  senses,  shows  that  they 
were  as  little  moved  by  the  impulse  of  enthusiasm 
as  is  the  modern  scientific  observer.  Their  truthful- 
ness and  sincerity  are  manifested  in  their  whole  con- 
duct. Though  they  soon  experienced  that  the 
preaching  of  the  resurrection  of  their  Master  would 
lead  to  their  own  persecution  and  death,  with  the  di- 
vinely fearless  strength  of  men  who  know  that  they 
proclaim  a  truth  transcendently  great,  the  Apostles 
continued  to  preach  everywhere  the  resurrection,  till 
one  be  one,  they  laid  down  their  lives  as  martyrs  for 
the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ. 

9.    A  STANDING  MIRACLE. 

There  are  other  facts  throwing  light  on  the  life 
of  Jesus    Christ,   which   taken   together   constitute 

'Mt.   27,    62-66;    28,   11-15. 

«Mt.  12.  38-40-  20.  19;  27,  63;  John  2,  18-21. 


A  STANDING  MIRACLE,  47 

overwhelming  evidence  of  His  Divinity.  The  his- 
tory of  the  Old  Testament,  covering  as  it  does  a 
period  of  several  thousand  years,  is  a  record  of  the 
expectation  of  a  Messiah.  It  contains  the  history  of 
the  family  from  which  the  Messiah  was  to  spring. 
It  chronicles  the  hope  of  a  Savior,  ever  growing 
from  the  dim  promise  in  Genesis,^  to  the  revelation 
of  His  life  and  death  in  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Dan- 
iel. Jesus  Christ  declared  that  these  Scriptures 
spoke  of  Himself.*-  Certainly  He  alone  fulfills  and 
explains  the  Hebrew  covenant  and  the  exp*ectation 
of  the  nations. 

The  life  of  Jesus,  His  birth.  His  teachings.  His 
miracles,  reveal  His  divine  character.  Even  the 
quiet  days  of  Christ's  early  ministry,  when  from 
village  to  village.  He  went  about  doing  good,  ex- 
emplifying in  His  unstrained  charity,  His  calm  wis- 
dom. His  simple  dignity,  at  once  the  ideal  life  of 
man  and  the  attributes  of  God,  are  for  many  souls 
whom  meditation  has  made  appreciative  of  that  life, 
satisfying  evidence  of  His  divine  Sonship  and  union 
with  the  Father. 

There  is  before  the  eyes  of  the  world  even  to  this 
day,  a  standing  miracle  bearing  witness  to  the  divin- 
ity of  Jesus  Christ.  We  look  back  to  the  carpenter 
of  Nazareth,  living  for  some  thirty  years  in  His  ob- 
scure village.  Remote  from  the  centers  of  intel- 
lectual life.  He  is,  by  His  social  position  and 
environment,  cut  off  from  the  opportunities  of 
human  education  and  large  experience.  He  is  the 
scion  of  a  race  narrow  and  self-centered.  He  sud- 
denly announces  that  He  brings  religious  teachings 
for  all  nations  and  for  all  ages.  He  prophesies  that 
His  Kingdom  will  triumph  and  endure  to  the  end  of 
time,  even  while  He  himself  goes  to  the  cross  after 
only  two  or  three  years  of  public  life.    Dying  He 

»Gen.  3,   15;  49,  10.  »John  5,  39-46;  4,  26;  Act.  18,  28. 


48  JESUS  CHRIST 

leaves  behind  Him  no  single  written  word,  no  polit- 
ical alliance,  no  philosophical  school;  only  a  dozen 
common  laborers  to  continue  His  work. 

After  the  lapse  of  1900  years,  we  behold  about  us, 
the  splendid  fulfillment  of  His  promises  which  when 
uttered,  seemed  by  every  canon  of  human  criticism, 
to  be  meaningless  dreams  utterly  incapable  of  real- 
ization. We  are  confronted  with  the  fact  that  His 
Apostles  have  actually  taught  the  nations.  Their 
message  reveals  ever  deepening  worth,  as  we  are 
more  able  to  understand  and  appreciate  its  vital 
truths.  While  the  institutions  and  dynasties  and 
very  civilizations  of  His  day  have  all  passed  away, 
Jesus  Christ  remains,  and  His  Kingdom  covers  the 
earth.  In  the  presence  of  this  standing  miracle,  we 
may  well  bow  our  heads  before  the  mystery  and  say, 
with  the  centurion  at  the  cross:  ^* Truly  this  is  the 
Son  of  God.  "3 

10.    THE  GOD-MAN. 

Christians  speak  of  the  mystery  of  the  human  and 
divine  in  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  mystery  of  the  Incar- 
nation: *'The  Word  became  flesh  and  dwelt 
amongst  us."^  In  Christ,  God  has  sent  to  us  not 
merely  a  prophet,  but  His  Son  who  is  ' '  the  effulgence 
of  His  Glory  and  the  figure  of  His  substance. "  ^  In 
Christ  is  the  Incarnation  of  the  divine  Wisdom.  He 
is  the  second  person  of  the  Trinity,  the  Word  or 
mental  image  of  God's  substance  generated  by  the 
eternal  act  of  the  Father's  self-knowledge.  ^'No 
man  knoweth  the  Son  but  the  Father,  neither  know- 
eth  any  man  the  Father,  save  the  Son  and  those  to 
whom  the  Son  will  reveal  Him. ' '  ^  Though  the  In- 
carnation has  been  the  object  of  study  of  the  great- 
est minds,  a  mystery  it  must  ever  remain.     We  can 

»  Mt.  27,  54.  1  John  1,  14.  »  Heb.   1,   1-3.  »  Luke  10,  22. 


THE  GOD  MAN  49 

know  many  things  about  it,  but  we  can  never  hope 
to  comprehend  it.  In  th^  person  of  Jesus  Christ  are 
united  the  human  nature  of  His  earthly  Mother 
Mary,  and  the  divine  nature  of  His  eternal  Father. 
He  is  a  man,  like  unto  us  in  all  things  save  sin :  and 
He  is  God. 

Christ  comes  to  the  world  as  its  Redeemer,  enlight- 
ening us  by  His  faith  and  enlivening  us  by  His 
grace.  Man  falls  through  desire  of  false  wisdom,- 
and  is  redeemed  through  the  substantial  "Wisdom  of 
the  Godhead."*  The  work  of  Jesus  Christ  rises  above 
the  order  of  nature  to  the  supernatural.  He  reveals 
divine  truth  as  it  would  never  have  dawned  upon 
unaided  human  reason.  He  provides  us  means  to  a 
union  with  God  utterly  surpassing  any  hope  of  our 
own  merit  or  power.  He  opens  up  the  way  leading 
to  the  beatific  vision  of  God,  Tviiich  is  not  the  due 
of  man  but  the  gracious  favor  of  .Heaven.  Though 
in  this  world,  His  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.  In 
the  midst  of  nature,  His  subjects  already  dwell  in 
the  supernatural  state.  His  grace  does  not  destroy 
human  nature  but  presupposes  it  and  elevates  it. 
He  came  that  we  may  have  life  and  have  it  more 
abundantly.  To  His  words  and  works  and  His  whole 
plan  of  salvation,  the  key  is,  the  supernatural.  The 
divine  Word  that  is  tlie  Son  of  God  by  nature,  ena- 
bles us  to  become  the  sons  of  God  by  adoption, 
whereby  we  may  truly  call  God  our  Father.® 

Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  calls  upon  all  men  to  fol- 
low Him.  He  comes  speaking  as  one  having  author- 
ity. *'I  am  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life.  Follow 
Me."*  He  is  the  vine  only  in  union  with  which, 
can  the  branches  bear  fruit  or  live.  He  demands  a 
complete  self-surrender — the  giving  up  of  father  and 
mother  and  home,  if  these  stand  in  the  way  of  dis- 

*  St.  Thos.  Sum.  Theol.  III.  Q.  3.  A.  8. 
•      6  Rom.  9,  4;  8,  15-23;  Gal.  4,  5;  Eph.  1,  5. 
•Mt.  7,  29;  John  14,  6;  Mt.  16,  24. 


50  JESUS  CHRIST 

cipleship  with  HimJ  To  open  our  minds  to  His 
message  and  to  conform  op.r  wills  to  its  every  pre- 
cept, is  at  once  the  highest  wisdom  and  the  essential 
duty.  Under  His  standard  men  find  the  sense  of 
security  and  inner  strength  and  spiritual  life  which 
led  St.  Paul  to  say:  *'If  God  be  with  us,  who  is 
against  us  ?  Neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 
principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  might,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor 
any  other  creature  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from 
the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. ' '  * 

11.    RESUME   OF   PART   ONE— THE   FOUNDA- 
TIONS OF  RELIGION. 

We  have  seen  that  the  foundations  of  religion 
are  God  and  the  soul.  Religion  exists  because  God 
and  man  exist  and  have  relation  to  each  other.  Cor- 
rectly speaking  only  the  true  relation  between  man 
and  God  is  worthy  of  the  name  religion.  In  this 
absolute  sense  there  is  only  one  religion  as  there  is 
only  one  truth.  The  word  is  used  in  a  loose  sense 
to  cover  what  might  be  called  man's  attempts  at  re- 
ligion. Again  in  a  more  proper  sense  we  speak  of 
natural  religion  and  supernatural  religion.  As  man 
has  been  called  by  God  to  a  supernatural  destiny 
and  God  has  in  a  supernatural  way  revealed  to  us 
His  divine  will  and  plan  of  our  salvation,  the^true 
religion  is  actually  supernatural.  It  is  the  relfgion 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

As  all  men  are  related  to  God,  every  man  has  his 
religious  responsibilities.  Only  the  thoughtless  say 
they  have  no  religion  because  they  have  enrolled 
themselves  in  no  religious  society.  One  may  not  live 
up  to  his  religious  duties  or  even  be  fully  informed 
of  them ;  but  each  and  every  one  has  relation  to  God 

»Mt.    10,    37.  "Rom,  8,  39. 


RESUME  OF  PART  ONE  51 

as  creature  to  Creator,  as  child  to  Father.  We  can 
no  more  get  away  from  that  relationship  than  the 
son  can  make  cease  his  relationship  with  his  par- 
ents. It  is  true,  the  ingrate  may  shamefully  repudi- 
ate and  cast  out  his  father  and  mother;  but  their 
son  he  remains.  To  understand  this  bond  as  it  is 
revealed  to  us  in  God's  will,  is  to  know  our  religion. 
To  live  in  harmony  with  this  truth,  is  to  practice  our 
religion. 

As  union  with  God,  in  knowing  and  doing  His  will, 
brings  man's  life  into  harmony  with  trutii,  the  true 
religion  makes  possible  man's  highest  development. 
It  alone  teaches  him  to  make  all  his  deeds  work  to- 
gether towards  his  supreme  end.  Even  in  this  life 
religion  begets  action.  *'A11  epochs,''  says  Goethe, 
*'in  which  faith  is  dominant,  are  brilliant,  elevating, 
and  pregnant  for  the  present  and  the  future.  Those 
on  the  contrary  that  are  under  the  sway  of  a  mis- 
erable skepticism,  dazzle  for  a  moment,  but  are  soon 
forgotten,  because  worthless  in  the  knowledge  which 
bears  no  fruit.  Unbelief  belongs  to  weak,  shallow 
and  retrograding  minds.''  It  could  not  be  other- 
wise. Ideals  and  earnest  convictions  alone  can 
arouse  man  to  heroic  deeds.  Doubt  can  destroy,  but 
it  has  no  power  to  create  or  renew.  Uncertainty 
on  the  supreme  problem,  the  very  meaning  of  life, 
stuns  the  best  energies  of  man  and  depresses  and 
paralyzes  the  soul.  **If  I  had  the  gift  of  faith  in 
my  hands,"  said  Thiers,  *'I  would  pour  it  over  my 
country.  I  prefer  a  hundred  times  a  nation  with 
faith,  to  one  without.  The  former  has  more  enthu- 
siasm for  enterprise,  more  heroism  in  defending  its 
greatness." 

The  man  of  faith  is  no  Ploszow'ski  with  his  hope- 
blighting  "cui  bono."  He  is  no  cynic,  to  whom 
' '  life  is  but  a  tale  told  by  an  idiot,  full  of  sound  and 
fury  signifying  nothing."    He  can  find  triumph  in 


52  JESUS  CHRIST 

failure.  He  is  neither  a  server  of  time  nor  a  slave 
of  men.  He  lives  and  dies  for  the  highest  good,  con- 
scious that  he  works  with  God  and  for  eternity. 
"Believers  have  been  world-compellers  and  world 
revealers.  They  have  conquered  with  Paul;  they 
have  founded  empires  with  Charlemagne ;  they  have 
written  epics  with  Dante  and  Milton;  they  have 
read  the  secret  of  the  stars  with  Copernicus  and 
Kepler;  they  have  sailed  the  seas  of  darkness  with 
Columbus ;  they  have  cleared  the  wilderness  for  the 
people's  rule  with  the  Puritans.  Life's  current  has 
welled  within  them  in  a  clear,  perennial,  fresh-flow- 
ing stream;  and  they  have  faced  death  himself,  be- 
lieving that  he  unlocks  the  door,  through  which  we 
pass  to  God  by  whose  throne  flows  life's  full  tide."  ^ 
We  have  seen  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  divine 
Son  of  God,  bringing  to  our  race,  truth  and  grace 
and  so  eternal  life.  The  teachings  of  Christ,  the 
means  by  which  He  raises  the  individual  soul  to 
union  with  God,  the  instruments  by  which  He  con- 
tinues His  work  in  the  world  and  establishes  His 
reign  among  men,  will  be  the  matter  of  the  following 
chapters. 

*  Spalding,  "Religion,  Agnosticism  and  Education." 


PART  TWO 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 
12.     THE  CHURCH  FOUNDED  BY  CHRIST. 

As  one  reads  the  history  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  is  im- 
pressed with  the  fact  that  Christ  gathered  His  fol- 
lowers into  a  society  furnished  with  definite  social 
organization  and  with  certain  sacramental  rites. 
This  social  union  was  at  once  the  inevitable  fruit  of 
Christ 's  precepts  of  love  and  mutual  helpfulness,  and 
His  chosen  means  by  which  His  influence  would  be 
spread  through  the  world  and  preserved  to  future 
generations. 

The  Kingdom.  Christ  came  to  exalt  the  individ- 
ual in  virtue ;  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth ;  to  exem- 
plify the  highest  love;  to  unite  men  with  God,  and 
with  one  another  as  brothers  under  the  one  Father; 
to  break  down  the  barriers  of  ignorance  and  wrong, 
of  caste  and  race-prejudice;  to  make  the  world  a 
great  spiritual  empire — the  ''Kingdom  of  God'*  on 
earth.  That  the  kingdom  may  exist  ''within  you/' 
it  exists  likewise  without.^ 

Through  organization,  Christ  planned  to  carry  on 
His  work.  He  repeatedly  speaks  of  the  kingdom 
in  the  terms  and  under  the  figures  of  a  visible  soci- 
ety.    He     calls     His     followers     the    Kingdom    of 

»LuTce  17,  21;  Mt.  6,  10. 

53 


54  THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

Heaven.^  He  likens  them  to  a  fold  of  sheep  led  by 
shepherds ;  ^  to  a  mustard  seed  destined  to  grow  to 
a  mighty  tree  sheltering  the  birds ;  *  to  leaven  which 
will  leaven  the  world ;  ^  to  a  field  in  which  are  found 
tares  as  well  as  good  wheat ;  ^  to  a  net  with  good  and 
bad  fish ; ''  to  a  vineyard  with  its  master  and  la- 
borers.^   He  calls  them  His  Church.® 

Christ  gives  to  the  Church  the  essential  features 
of  its  constitution.  To  represent  Him  in  a  special 
way  and  to  act  as  His  ministers  or  agents  in  spread- 
ing and  perpetuating  His  work,  He  selects  from 
among  His  followers,  the  twelve  apostles.^*^  These 
he  appoints  the  shepherds  of  His  flock.^^  He  clothes 
them  with  authority  to  govern  the  brethren.^^  Into 
the  mouth  of  these,  His  teachers  accredited  to  the 
world,  He  puts  the  preaching  of  His  Gospel.^^  Into 
their  hands  He  entrusts  the  administration  of  the 
sacred  rites  of  the  new  covenant."  To  one  of 
the  twelve  He  gives  the  **Keys  of  the  Kingdom,"  ^^ 
the  symbols  of  the  preeminence  of  him  who  being  the 
servant  of  the  servants,  is  the  leader.^^  Membership 
in  this  society  was  conditioned  by  the  initiatory  rite 
of  Baptism  ^^  and  marked  by  the  frequent  reception 
of  the  Eucharistic  Sacrament.^®  It  is  open  to  all 
men.  All  the  sheep  of  the  divine  shepherd  must  be 
brought  into  this  fold.^^ 

^Mt.  uses  "Kingdom  of  Heaven"  34  times;  others  use  "K.  of  God." 

'John    10,    14. 

*Mt.  13,   31. 

"Mt.   13,   33. 

•Mt.   13,   24. 

»Mt.   13,   47;   4,    19. 

•Mt.  20,   1. 

•Mt.   16,   18.     Word  used  over  100  times  in  N.  T. 

"Mk.   8,   13. 

"John   21,    17. 

«Mt.    18,    18. 

"Mt.   28,    18. 

"Mt.  28,   19;   Luke  22,   19;  John  20,  28. 

«Mt.   16,    19. 

"Luke   22,    26. 

"John  3,   5. 

"L  Cor.  11,  23-29. 

"John    10,    16. 


CHURCH  FOUNDED  BY  CHRIST  55 

Unity.  Christ  foresaw  how  the  Church  would 
develop  in  its  details  in  order  to  accomplish  its  mis- 
sion in  every  environment.  He  saw,  too,  how  this 
work  would  be  hampered  by  the  human  tendency 
toward  disunion.  To  insure  the  permanence  of  the 
Church  and  the  success  of  its  work,  He  promised 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  will  abide  with  it  to  the  end  of 
time.^^  The  powers  of  evil  shall  not  overcome  it.^^ 
After  His  last  supper  Christ  prayed  that  all  His  fol- 
lowers, both  the  apostles  and  those  who  would  come 
to  believe  in  Him  through  their  preaching,  might 
continue  in  a  unity  which  would  be  seen  by  the  world 
and  from  which  the  world  might  know  that  He  was 
sent  of  God.^2  So  the  Church  of  Christ  was  to  be 
a  public  and  visible  society,  whose  members  bound 
together  in  a  common  faith  and  love,  would,  pre- 
cisely by  this  unity,  convince  the  world  of  their  di- 
vine origin. 

After  the  departure  of  Jesus,  we  find  the  apostles 
acting  together  as  a  society.  They  hold  legislative 
council.^^  They  appoint  fellow-workers.^*  They  sit 
in  judgment  of  the  brethren.^^  They  cut  off  unwor- 
thy members.^*  Their  work  required  this  organiza- 
tion; the  work  of  teaching  with  mutual  council  and 
agreement;  of  charity  with  needful  cooperation;  of 
sacramental  worship  with  tepples  and  worshipers. 
The  Master  has  ordained  this  organization.  All 
who  would  be  His  disciples,  must  henceforth  enlist 
beneath  the  banners  of  His  Kingdom;  and  contrib- 
ute of  their  particular  talents  to  the  common  effort 
to  propagate  His  truth  and  promote  His  love.  The 
Church  is  the  embodiment  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion. 

The  Church.  It  is  the  necessity  of  our  earth,  that 
the  spirit  of  institutions,  as  well  as  the  souls  of  men, 


^ojohn  14,   16. 

»Act.  15,  28. 

20  Act.  5.  3. 

=»Mt.   16,    18. 

"Act.  6,  5. 

2«I.  Cor.  5. 

"John  17,  ^1. 

56  THE  CHUECH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

must  have  a  body,  if  their  influence  is  to  be  ade- 
quately exercised.  Only  in  the  organization  of  our 
Eepublic  in  1776,  did  the  spirit  of  our  national  lib- 
erty— and  all  that  the  history  of  that  phrase  means 
— receive  the  tangible  and  efficient  shape  that  we 
may  call  its  body.  Organization  enables  us  to  enjoy 
and  defend  our  freedom;  to  bequeath  it  to  our  chil- 
dren; and  to  make  it  the  privilege  of  other  men. 
In  our  present  millions  of  people,  our  complex  laws, 
foreign  relations  and  machinery  of  government, 
the  heroes  of  Valley  Forge  would  hardly  recognize 
the  little  federation  of  1776.  Yet  we,  America  of 
the  twentieth  century,  are  but  the  development  of 
that  humble  beginning.  A  man  does  not  prove  his 
identity  by  returning  to  his  cradle.  Our  many  laws 
exist  only  to  protect  our  liberty:  our  manifold  rela- 
tions, only  to  promote  the  happiness  of  all  in  our 
different  conditions.  The  highest  national  virtue  is 
still  the  patriotism  that  would  live  and  die  for  the 
country.  Worthy  citizenship  is  still  the  sufficient 
honor.  The  darkest  crime  is  still  treason  against 
rightly  constituted  authority. 

Like  our  Republic,^^  the  Church  has  grown.  The 
mustard  seed  has  become  a  mighty  tree.  The  leaven 
has  leavened  the  world.  Cockle  has  indeed  appeared 
amid  the  good  wheat ;  but  it  is  no  part  of  the  wheat. 
The  kingdom  has  been  assailed  by  all  the  powers  of 
evil;  but  the  gates  of  hell  have  not  prevailed.  The 
Church  has  not  left  Christ  in  the  poverty  of  Beth- 
lehem. She  has  enlisted  in  His  service  the  highest 
culture  and  eloquence.  She  has  beautified  His  tem- 
ples with  every  art.  She  has  glorified  His  Cross  on 
her  steeples.  She  herself  has  developed,  as  develop 
she  must,  if  she  would  live.  But  she  has  not 
changed.     To  unite  men  with  God  and  with  one  an- 

"  The  CRurch  is  a  society  sui  generis,  having  some  features  of  both 
empire  and  republic,  while  belonging  to  a  different  order  from  either. 


THE  HEAD  OP  THE  CHURCH  57 

other,  to  mold  lives  in  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ,  is 
still  her  one  work.  That  the  Spirit  of  God  might 
be  within  us,  His  Church  has  been  without.  She  is 
a  continuation  through  the  ages,  of  the  Incarnation. 
The  history  of  the  Church  is  the  history  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  world. 

13.    THE  HEAD  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Following  the  analogy  of  the  human  body,  with 
its  various  members  working  together  harmoniously 
under  the  direction  of  the  head,  nature  teaches  us 
the  necessity  of  placing  a  leader  at  the  head  of  any 
society  of  men,  in  order  to  hold  its  members  to- 
gether and  enable  them  to  carry  out  its  purposes. 
This  is  the  conception  of  society,  as  opposed  to  the 
unmarshalled  mob ;  of  law  and  order,  as  contrasted 
wuth  anarchy.  The  business,  social,  political  or  mil- 
itary organization  must  have  its  proper  head.  The 
town  has  its  mayor,  the  state  its  governor,  the  re- 
public its  president  as  the  representative  of  the  cen- 
tral authority  that  unites  its  citizens.  So  essential 
to  the  well-being  of  the  republic  is  the  chief  execu- 
tive officer  considered,  that  with  him,  is  always 
elected  a  vice-president;  and  provision  is  made  for 
the  legal  succession  of  even  further  subordinates,  to 
take  the  presidential  chair  in  case  of  necessity. 

In  the  United  States,  Maine  is  uilited  with  New 
Mexico,  Oregon  with  Florida,  through  their  com- 
mon union  with  the  central  authority  of  the  country 
at  "Washington.  All  our  hundred  million  citizens 
stand  as  one  man  in  civic  strength,  because  each  ac- 
knowledges the  leadership  of  the  president,  in  whosie 
person  the  nation  is  made  one.  Within  the  proper 
sphere,  union  with  the  central  government  at  Wash- 
ington and  with  its  representative,  the  president,  is 
the  test  of  loyalty  and  patriotism.     Rebellion  against 


58  THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

the  constituted  authority,  secession  from  the  union,  is 
treason,  which  brings  down  upon  the  offender  loss 
of  citizenship  and  liability  to  death. 

Christ's  Headship.  What  our  human  wisdom 
teaches  us  to  do  for  any  organization  which  we  wish 
to  deal  successfully  with  men,  Christ's  divine  wis- 
dom led  Him  to  do  for  the  Church  which  He  founded 
to  carry  on  His  work  among  men.  He  gave  to  His 
Church  a  visible  head.  Christ  Himself  is  ever  the 
invisible  head  of  the  Church,  as  He  is,  in  a  sense, 
the  invisible  head  of  the  nation.  By  His  authority 
''Kings  rule  and  law-givers  decree  just  things.'' 
But  the  Church,  like  the  Republic,  being  a  visible 
society,  made  up  of  and  for  visible  men,  stands  in 
need  likewise  of  a  visible  head.  Christ  indeed  is 
our  King.  He  is  the  divine  Sovereign  of  the  King- 
dom. He  is  indeed  the  Head  of  the  Church,  com- 
municating His  own  spirit  to  the  members  of  His 
mystic  body.^  He  still  guides  His  earthly  flock; 
only  not  in  visible  person,  as  He  did  in  the  days  of 
His  sojourn  on  earth ;  but  through  the  hands  of  His 
apostles  and  their  successors,  human  instruments 
through  whom  He  works  and  with  whom  He  abides 
to  the  end  of  time.^ 

Christ's  Vicar.  The  Gospel  history  tells  us  that 
from  among  the  twelve  apostles,  it  was  Simon  Bar 
Jona,  better  known  as  St.  Peter,  whom  Christ  ap- 
pointed the  leader  among  the  apostles,  the  father 
of  the  brethren,  the  chief  pastor  of  the  Church  and 
the  highest  representative  of  Himself  after  His  own 
departure  from  this  world.  Simon  Peter  is  coristi- 
tuted  the  visible  head  of  the  Church;  the  rock  of 
central  authority  on  which  the  Church  is  built  up 
and  its  members  held  together  in  the  unity  of  faith 
and  the  bond  of  charity. 

11.  Cor.  12,  27. 
2Mt.  28,  18. 


CHRIST  ESTABLISHED  PAPACY  59 

14.     CHRIST      ESTABLISHED      THE     PAPACY 
WITH  PETER  AS  THE  FIRST  POPE 

In  the  mind  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  workings  and 
needs  of  the  Church  were  all  foreseen  and  provided 
for.  The  plan  of  the  divine  architect  neglected  no 
essential  point.  Simon  was  chosen  ^  and  his  future 
ofifice  designed  by  the  Master,  before  the  day  when 
Andrew  brought  his  brother  to  Jesus,  saying:  **We 
have  found  the  Messiah.'*  At  that  first  meeting 
with  Simon,  Jesus  gave  a  hint  of  what  the  future 
was  to  bring.  Looking  upon  the  fisherman.  He  said : 
*'Thou  art  Simon  the  son  of  Jona.  Thou  shalt  be 
called  Cephas" — which,  as  St.  John  explains,  is  by 
interpretation  a  rock.^ 

Cephas.  What  the  Lord  meant  by  these  words, 
the  apostles  were  to  learn  later  on.  Before  hearing 
their  solution,  we  shall  look  carefully  at  the  strange 
word,  Cephas,  used  by  Christ.  Cephas  is  a  noun  of 
the  Syro-Chaldaic  language,  the  tongue  (a  mixture 
of  Hebrew  and  Chaldaic)  used  by  the  Jews  after  the 
Babylonian  captivity.  As  the  Gospel  notes,  Cephas 
means  a  rock.^  The  word  Peter,  by  which  we  com- 
monly designate  the  Apostle  Simon,  is  the  Anglicized 
form  of  petra,  the  Greek  word  for  rock.  We  are 
familiar  with  this  root  in  the  word  petrified,  by 
which  we  describe  wood  or  other  substances  that 
have  turned  to  rock. 

Children  are  now  often  called  after  the  great  apos- 
tle, and  the  word  Peter  has  become  to  most  people 
merely  a  convenient  name,  like  John  or  Thomas. 
But  it  had  never  been  a  man's  name  before  Christ 
gave  it  to  Simon  to  signify  his  destined  office  in  the 
Church.  The  half  Greek  translation,  Peter,  might 
easily  lead  the  uneducated  to  miss  the  very  point 
and  force  of  what  really  Christ  said  to  Simon.     As 

iJohn  15,   16.  ^John  1,  42. 


60  THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

the  whole  New  Testament,  except  perhaps  the  Gos- 
pel of  Matthew,  was  written  in  Greek,  the  form, 
Peter,  would  easily  be  carried  into  our  language  as 
the  name  of  the  apostle.  .In  plain  English  what 
Christ  said  to  Simon  was:  ''Thou  shalt  be  called 
the  Rock.'*  Other  Jews,  including  Abraham,  Sarah, 
John  the  Baptist  and  Jesus  Himself,^  had  been  given 
mystic  names  significant  of  the  office  to  which  they 
were  destined.  Doubtless  Simon  and  his  friends 
wondered  what  was  presaged  by  Jesus  naming  him- 
the  Rock. 

The  Great  Commission.    We  read  in  the  Gospel,* 
the  story  of  the  great  commission  given  by  Christ  to 
Simon.     ''Jesus  came  into  the  quarters  of  Csesarea 
Philippi  and  asked  the  disciples,  saying:     Who  do 
men  say  that  the  Son  of  Man  is?     But  they  said: 
Some,  John  the  Baptist ;  some  Elias ;  others  Jeremias 
or  one  of  the  prophets.     Jesus  said  unto  them :     But 
who  do  you  say  that  I  am?     Simon  Peter  answered 
and  said:     Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  liv- 
ing   God.     And    Jesus    answering    said   unto    him: 
Blessed  art  thou,   Simon  Bar  Jona,  for  flesh  and 
blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father 
who  is  in  Heaven.     And  I  say  unto  thee  that : 
Thou  art  Peter  (Cephas,  Rock),  and 
On  this  Rock  I  will  build  my  Church;  and 
The  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it :  and 
I  will  give  to  thee  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven:  and 

Whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth,  shall  be 
bound  in  Heaven:  and 

Whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be 
loosed  in  Heaven." 

The  Rock.  Let  us  study  this  commission.  ' '  Thou 
art  Peter  and  on  this  Rock  I  will  build  my  Church. ' ' 
The  Church  built  by  Jesus  Christ  is  essentially  asso- 

»Mt.  1,  21.  *Mt.  16,  13-19. 


CHRIST  ESTABLISHED  PAPACY  61 

ciated  with  Simon  Peter.  Simon  proclaiming  the 
faith  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God,  is  the  Rock  on  which  the  Church  is  built.  The 
wise  architect  builds  his  house  upon  a  solid  founda- 
tion to  hold  it  together  and  protect  it  from  wind 
and  storm  and  enemies.  So  the  Church,  the  society 
of  the  faithful,  is  founded  by  Christ  upon  the  rock 
of  a  central  authority  which  will  hold  it  together 
and  be  the  citadel  of  union  and  protection.  This 
central  authority  is  established  concretely  in  the  per- 
son of  Simon  Peter. 

That  Christ  identifies  Simon  and  the  Rock  on 
which  He  builds  His  Church,  is  more  clearly  indi- 
cated by  His  words  in  the  oriental  tongues,  where 
the  very  same  word  is  used  both  times.  In  the 
Syro-Chaldaic,  which  Christ  spoke,  the  word  is 
Cephas.     In  the  cognate  Syriac  we  read: 

Anath  Chipa  vcJiaU  hada  Chipa. 
Thou  art  Peter  and  on  this  rock. 

This  identity  of  expression  is  somewhat  obscured 
in  the  Greek,  where  the  commoner  form  petra  is 
properly  turned  to  the  masculine  form,  petros,  when 
applied  to  the  Apostle.    Thus: — 

*•       8u  ci  Petros  Tcai  epi  taute  te  Petra, 
Thou  art  Peter  and  on  this  Rock. 

The  Latin  version  follows  the  Greek: 

Tu  cs  Petrus  et  super  hanc  Petram. 
Thou  art  Peter  and  on  this  Roch. 

The  identity  is  well  preserved  in  the  French: 

Tu  es  Pierre  et  sur  cette  Pierre. 

Thou  art  Peter  and  on  this  Rock. 


62  THE  CHUECH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

Peter,  as  we  shall  now  call  him,  does  not  become 
for  the  Church  a  different  foundation  from  Jesus 
Christ.  The  Church  is  built  on  Christ,  who  is  the 
chief  cornerstone  and  foundation.  It  is  built  on  all 
the  Apostles.  But  in  a  particular  way,  it  is  built  on 
Peter  as  the  rock  of  visible  authority  and  the  high- 
est representative  of  Christ.  ^'Note  too,  the  Rock 
is  not  the  man  Peter  apart  from  his  faith.  For  his 
name  is  given  him  because  of  his*faith.^  Nor  is 
the  Rock  the  faith  apart  from  the  man.  *Thou,' 
says  Christ,  ^art  the  Rock. '  The  Rock  is  Peter  hold- 
ing and  declaring  the  divinely  given  faith. '^ 

The  Gates  of  Hell.  "With  Peter  its  rock  of  central 
authority,  is  linked  the  promise  of  Jesus  Christ  to 
His  Church,  that  * '  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it. ' '  ^  Error  and  sin  and  all  the  passions  of 
men  and  all  the  cunning  and  fury  of  evil  spirits  may 
besiege  and  storm  the  citadel;  but  they  shall  not 
overcome  it.  Christ  is  the  wise  man  who  built  His 
house  upon  a  rock;  the  rains  descended,  the  floods 
came,  the  winds  blew  and  beat  upon  that  house :  but 
it  fell  not  because  it  was  built  upon  the  rock."^ 

Keys  of  the  Kingdom.  *'I  will  give  to  thee  the 
keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.*'  The  keys  are  the 
symbols  of  authority.  This  is  a  figure  coming  from 
the  days  of  walled  cities  and  castles,  when  the  high- 
est officer  controlled  the  keys.^  The  Kingdom  of 
Heaven,  like  the  Kingdom  of  God,  is  used  in  the  New 
Testament  to  signify  the  Church.^  Hence  upon  Pe- 
ter, Christ  bestows  the  symbols  of  highest  authority 
in  His  Church. 

Peter's  Authority.  Lest  perhaps  men  might  fail 
to  realize  His  meaning  and  intention,  Christ  drops 

BMl.  16,  17. 
•Mt.  16,  18. 
»Mt.    7,    25. 

•This  figure  found  Is.  9,   6;   22,  15-22.     Apoc.   1,   18;   3,  7. 
»  "Kingdom  of  Heaven"  used  34  times,  now  for  the  elect,  now  for  the 
visible  Church. 


CHRIST  ESTABLISHED  PAPACY  63 

the  metaphor  and  in  plainest  speech  concludes  His 
commission  making  Peter  His  vicar  in  the  Church: 
*  *  Whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound 
in  Heaven :  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth 
shall  be  loosed  in  Heaven.'* 

Servant  of  the  Servants,  To  be  the  lowliest  rep- 
resentative of  God — as  priest  in  the  parish  or  parent 
in  the  home — is  to  be  the  servant  of  others  for  the 
love  of  God  and  the  good  of  men.  To  be  the  high- 
est representative  of  God,  is  to  be  the  servant  of  the 
servants.  Thus  the  divine  Master  explained  the  of- 
fice and  larger  responsibility  which  He  laid  upon 
Peter.  The  night  before  Jesus  died,  when  perhaps 
the  disciples  felt  they  would  soon  be  without  His 
visible  presence,  some  of  them  discussed  among 
themselves,  who  of  them  would  be  the  greater  in  the 
Kingdom.  Jesus  showed  that  if  one  will  be  the 
greater,  it  is  only  because  upon  him  will  be  placed 
the  greater  care  and  labor  as  the  servant  of  all. 
And  He  promised  that  Peter  will  be  the  Father 
Apostle,  to  hold  together  the  company  when  Satan 
will  strive  to  scatter  them  as  chaff  before  the  wind ; 
and  that  Peter,  with  God's  grace,  will  confirm  the 
faith  of  the  brethren.^<> 

"Simon,  Simon,  behold  Satan  hath  desired  to  have 
you,  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat:  but  I  have 
prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  shall  fail  not;  and 
thou  being  converted,  strengthen  thy  brethren."  ^^ 

The  Chief  Pastor.  Before  His  ascension  into 
Heaven,  Christ  gathered  His  Apostles  around  Him 
and  again  singling  out  Peter  from  the  rest.  He  con- 
stituted him  the  pastor  of  His  whole  flock.  Christ 
commissions  Peter  to  feed  both  the  lambs  and  the 
sheep.     To  his  special  care,  the  Master  entrusts  all, 

'"Luke    22.    24-32. 

""■  Note  the  plural  you — all  of  you,  and  the  singular  thee — ^Peter:  and 
Christ's  prayer  for  Peter  to  whom  He  entrusts  the  others. 


64  THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

both  the  little  ones  and  their  elders  ^^  who  would 
bring  forth  the  spiritual  lambs  into  the  fold. 

*' Jesus  said  to  Simon  Peter:  ^^  Simon,  son  of 
John,  lovest  thou  me  more  than  these  ?  He  said  to 
Him ;  Lord  thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee.  He  said 
to  him: 

Feed  my  lambs. 

He  said  to  him  again :  Simon,  son  of  John,  lovest 
thou  me?  He  said  to  Him:  Yea,  Lord,  Thou  know- 
est that  I  love  Thee.     He  said  to  him : 

Feed  my  Lambs. 

He  said  to  him  the  third  time:  Simon,  son  of 
John,  lovest  thou  me?  Peter  was  grieved  that  He 
said  to  him  the  third  time,  lovest  thou  me.  And  he 
said  to  Him:  Lord,  Thou  knowest  all  things: 
Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee.    Jesus  said  to  him: 

Feed  my  sheep." 

Thus  Christ  constituted  Peter  the  pastor  of  His 
whole  flock,  the  father  among  the  brethren,  the  rock 
of  central  authority  in  the  society  of  His  followers. 
The  Church,  as  a  society  would  need  a  visible  head. 
In  this  act,  Christ  provided  it.  Throughout  history 
we  find  the  Church  constituted  with  a  chief  officer. 
He  is  called  the  Pope,  that  is  the  father.  Before  we 
find  the  Pope  in  history,  we  find  him  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. The  constitution  of  the  Church  is  divine; 
it  is  the  work  of  Christ.  The  Papacy  is  part  of  that 
constitution.  Peter  is  the  first  Pope,  the  pastor  of 
the  Universal  Church: 

"The  pilot  of  the  Galilean  Lake; 
Two  massy  keys  he  bore  of  metals  twain, 
The  golden  opes,  the  iron  shuts  amain."  i* 

"  Laity  and  clergy  make  up  the  fold.  Peter  is  over  all.  Elsewhere 
Christ  uses  same  figures,  calling  false  teachers  wolves  in  sheeps'  cloth- 
ing. 

"  John  21,  13-17. 

"  Milton.  Church  compared  to  boat.  Jerome,  Chrysostom,  Augustine 
and  other  fathers  were  impressed  by  Christ  teaching  from  Peter's  boat 
and  calling  him  the  Fisherman  of  Men.     Luke  5,   1-10. 


PRIMACY  OF  PETER         65 

15.  THE  PRIMACY  OF  PETER  IN  THE  FIRST 
DAYS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Immediately  after  the  Ascension  of  Christ,  we 
find  Peter  standing  in  the  midst  of  his  fellow  Apos- 
tles, as  their  leader.  In  the  first  half  of  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,^  which  is  almost  the  only  history  of 
the  first  few  years  of  the  Church,  Peter  is  the  one 
towering  figure.  He  is  the  first  to  preach  to  the 
Jews  in  Jerusalem.^  He  is  the  first  to  receive  the 
Gentiles.^  He  is  the  first  through  whom  God  exer» 
cises  miraculous  power.*  He  conducts  the  election 
of  a  successor  to  Judas.^  He  judges  Ananias  and 
Saphira,  who  fall  dead  at  his  feet.**  He  speaks  at 
the  Council  of  Jerusalem  and  ''all  the  multitude 
hold  their  peace.''  Before  Peter  spoke  there  was 
much  disputing.  Afterward  James  and  the  others 
speak  only  to  agree  with  his  judgment.''  Peter  is 
cast  into  prison:  all  the  Church  is  aroused  till  he 
is  delivered  by  a  miracle.®  ''To  see  Peter,"  Paul 
goes  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  remains  with  him  a  fort- 
night.® Doubtless  Paul  saw  the  other  brethren  too, 
but  he  emphasizes  the  leader.  At  another  time, 
when  Paul  did  not  agree  with  Peter  about  a  matter 
of  policy,^^ — where  one  may  have  his  own  opinion 
and  differ  in  it  from  a  superior  officer, — he  records 
the  incident  as  something  worthy  of  note:  and  his 
mentioning  it,  the  way  he  does,  is  a  testimony  to 
Peter's  primacy. 

^  Later  Chapters  Luke  devotes  to  journeys  of  Paul 

'Act.  2.  l-I.  J  J  . 

»Act.   10. 

♦Act.   3. 

"Act.   1,   15. 

•Act.   5. 

»Act.   15,   7. 

8  Act.   12,  5. 

"Gal.   1,   18. 

^^  Gal.  2,  11.  In  truths  of  faith  the  Ap.  were  agreed,  being  undee 
inspiration  of  Holy  Ghost.  Matters  of  policy  might  be  left  to  theii 
human  wisdom. 


66  THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

Exercise  of  Office.  In  view  of  what  occurred  dur- 
ing the  passion  of  our  Lord,  how  unnatural  and  un- 
likely it  would  have  been  for  Peter  to  thus  assert 
himself  as  he  did,  or  for  the  others  to  have  per- 
mitted him  to  do  so,  had  not  he  and  they  realized 
that  he  was  vested  by  Christ  with  an  authority  and 
had  a  special  office  to  exercise.  It  would  have 
seemed  more  becoming  for  Peter  to  take  the  lowest 
place  in  the  assemblies  of  the  Apostles,  to  cultivate 
silence,  and  to  avoid  prominence;  instead  of  ^'rising 
in  the  midst''  and  leading  his  confreres.  But  in 
Peter  and  indeed  in  all  the  Apostles,  Christ  was 
using  weak  human  instruments;  and  it  was  after 
the  repentance  of  the  one  and  the  forgiveness  of 
the  other,  that  the  trust  was  given,  '*Feed  my 
lambs,  feed  my  sheep." 

Peter  First.  The  primacy  of  Peter  was  testified 
to  by  the  other  Apostles  in  various  ways,  by  their 
writings  as  well  as  by  their  acts.  Thus  it  is  signifi- 
cant that  in  the  four  Gospels  alone,  the  name  of 
Peter  is  mentioned  as  often  as  91  times,  while  St. 
John's  name,  which  comes  next  to  his,  is  mentioned 
only  38  times  throughout  the  entire  New  Testament. 
In  the  Acts  the  name  of  Peter  occurs  over  50 
times,  whereas  the  next  after  his  is  mentioned  only 
eight  times.^^  In  the  whole  New  Testament  Peter 
is  mentioned  some  180  times.  Four  times  the  New 
Testament  gives  a  list  of  the  twelve.  The  name  of 
Judas  is  always  placed  last,  not  by  accident,  as  all 
will  readily  understand,  but  with  good  reason.  The 
others  find  different  places  in  the  several  lists,  ex- 
cept Peter,  who  is  always  placed  first.  Elsewhere 
too,  when  Peter  is  mentioned  with  other  Apostles,  he 
is  given  the  first  place.^^  Neither  was  this  by  acci- 
dent.   As  Matthew  says:    *' Peter  was  the  first": 

"  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  by  P.  J.  Francis. 

"Mt.   17,   1.     Mk.   14,   33.     Luke  22,   8.     John  21,  2. 


ST.  PETER  IN  ROME 


67 


not  the  first  in  age,  nor  the  first  to  join  Jesus,  but 
the  first  in  authority. 

Lists  of  the  Apostles. 


Matthew   X-2. 

Mark.    III16. 

Luke    VI-14. 

Actt  1-18. 

1.  The  first  Simon 

Simon    Peter. 

Simon  Peter. 

Peter. 

Peter. 

2.  Andrew. 

James    Zeb. 

Andrew. 

James  Zeb. 

3.  James  Zeb. 

John. 

James  Zeb. 

John. 

4.  John, 

Andrew. 

John, 

Andrew. 

5.   Philip. 

Philip, 

Philip. 

Philip. 

6.   Bnrtholomew, 

Bartholomew. 

Bartholomew. 

Thomas, 

7.  Thomas. 

Matthew. 

Matthew. 

Bartholomew. 

8.  Matthew. 

Thomas. 

Thomas. 

Matthew, 

9.  James  Alp. 

James   Alp. 

James   Alp. 

James    Alp, 

10.  Thaddaeus 

Thaddaeus 

Simon  Zeal. 

Simon  Zeal. 

(Jude). 

(Jude). 

11.   Simon    Zealotcs. 

Simon    Zeal. 

Jude    (Thad.) 

Jude    (Thad,) 

12.  Judas     Iscariot. 

Judas    Iscariot. 

Judas  Iscariot, 

16.    ST.  PETER  IN  ROME. 

Sienkiewicz,  in  his  masterpiece,  **Quo  Vadis," 
paints  a  picture  worthy  at  once  of  his  historical 
learning  and  his  artistic  skill.  The  Emperor  Nero 
is  entering  Rome  from  a  triumphant  tour  of  the 
East,  and  the  populace  crowd  the  pavements  to  ad- 
mire the  gorgeous  spectacle.  The  emerald  through 
which  the  tyrant  scrutinized  the  crowd,  rested  upon 
an  humble,  gray-haired  Jew  jostled  in  the  throng. 
For  a  moment  their  eyes  met.  In  that  moment  two 
world  powers  were  gazing  at  each  other.  The  one, 
at  the  time  triumphant,  founded  on  might  of  arms 
and  wealth,  seemed  destined  to  last  forever:  but  was 
soon  to  fade  away.  The  other,  unknown  and  insig- 
nificant, was  to  rise  up  in  spiritual  dominion  and  seize 
forever  the  city  and  the  world.  The  Jew  was  the 
Apostle  Peter. 

It  is  a  matter  of  history  that  Peter  lived  in  Rome 
and  from  that  center  of  the  world  empire,  labored 


68  THE  CHUKCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

for  the  struggling  infant  Church.  The  years  of 
Peter  in  its  Bishopric  are  estimated  at  25;  though 
they  were  not  spent  in  Rome  alone,  but  in  many  jour- 
neyings.  From  his  letter  to  the  Romans,  we  learn 
that  Paul,  too,  realizing  no  doubt  the  strategic  value 
of  the  capital  city,  planned  to  reach  Rome.  Both 
saints  sanctified  the  eternal  city  by  their  martyrdom, 
under  the  Emperor  Nero,  in  the  year  67.  Peter 
was  crucified  like  the  Master,  only  with  his  head 
downward.  Paul,  being  a  citizen  of  the  empire, 
escaped  this  ignominious  death  of  the  cross,  only  to 
have  his  head  struck  off  with  the  sword. 

Rome  Providential.  In  the  providence  of  God, 
the  empire  of  the  Caesars  prepared  the  way  for  the 
spread  of  the  Christian  religion.  All  the  nations  of 
the  civilized  world  and  many  barbarous  tribes  paid 
tribute  to  Csesar.  Roman  law  and  arms  held  all  the 
provinces  under  the  spell  of  the  siren  of  the  Tiber. 
Her  Latin  and  Greek,  like  her  coins,  were  current 
in  the  east  and  the  west.  They  had  broken  down 
the  barriers  of  distance  and  race;  and  were  found 
everywhere — on  the  tongues  of  her  merchants  and 
soldiers,  in  the  outlying  camp  of  British  York,  and 
with  the  Hebrew  of  Palestine,  on  the  cross  of  Cal- 
vary.^ Rome  was  the  head  and  center  of  this  im- 
perial dream  realized  then,  and  neither  before  nor 
since. 

All  roads  led  to  Rome  and  from  Rome.  Over 
them  marched  soldiers  crowned  with  the  victory  of 
war;  and  captains  of  industry  bartering  the  mer- 
chandise of  Egypt  and  Syria  for  the  slaves  of  Greece 
and  Gaul.  Along  them,  backward  and  forward, 
sped  wing-footed  couriers  bringing  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth  the  decrees  of  the  senate;  and  to  the  eapitol, 
the  heart  throbs  of  the  world.  Rome  was  the  world 
center  of  commerce  and  government.    Would  she 

iJohn  19,  9. 


ST.  PETER  IN  ROME  69 

not  be  the  strategic  point  from  which  to  spread  the 
religion  of  Christ  to  the  nations  of  the  earth? 
Might  not  apostles  march  over  her  roads  as  sol- 
diers of  the  cross;  bearing  the  torch  of  divine  light 
to  those  that  sat  in  the  darkness  of  paganism,  and 
the  tidings  of  salvation  to  the  slaves  of  sin;  and  re- 
turn crowned  with  the  victory  of  peace ;  or  remain, 
wreathed  with  the  crown  of  martyrdom?  The  Ro- 
man empire  seemed  a  providential  instrument  for 
the  spread  of  Christ's  kingdom  on  eaHh.  And  to 
Rome  came  thp  chief  apostles,  Peter  and  Paul. 

Voice  of  History.  That  Peter  was  in  Rome,  is  the 
unbroken  tradition  of  the  ages.  In  the  face  of  this 
teaching  of  all  historians  worthy  of  the  name,  it  has 
been  denied  that  Peter  was  in  Rome.  But  the  denial 
arose  not  from  historical  criticism  but  from  theo- 
logical polemics.  It  was  unheard  of  till  the  reli- 
gious controversies  of  comparatively  recent  times 
seemed  to  need  it  as  an  argument.  The  best  answer 
to  this  denial  is  to  cite  the  names  of  a  few  of  the 
many  illustrious  non-Catholic  historians  who,  with 
all  the  ancient  writers  and  the  Catholic  scholars, 
teach  St.  Peter  ^s  presence  in  Rome.  Such  are  Gro- 
tius,  Cave,  Lardner,  Whitby,  Macknight,  Hales, 
Claudius,  Schaff,  Mynster,  Neander,  Steiger,  De 
Wette,  Wiesler,  Credner,  Bleck,  Hilgenfeld,  Man- 
gold, Renan,  Myers,  Whiston,  Leibnitz. 

The  Dictionary  of  the  B'ible  -  says:  *' There  is 
now  an  almost  unanimous  agreement  among  scholars 
that  the  Apostle  Peter  suffered  martyrdom  in  the 
Eternal  City,  the  only  point  of  <iifferenee  being  as  to 
the  date." 

Lardner  writes:  *'It  is  the  general  uncontra- 
dicted, disinterested  testimony  of  ancient  writers, 
Qreeks,  Latins  and  Syrians."^ 

*  Scribner's.  1905,  Art.  Rome, 

»  Church  of  Ap,  and  Evang.,  Ch.  18. 


70  THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

Cave  writes.:  ^'That  Peter  was  in  Rome  and  held 
the  See  there  for  some  time,  we  fearlessly  affirm 
with  the  whole  multitude  of  the  ancients. ' '  * 

Whiston,  the  translator  of  Josephus,  says :  * '  That 
St.  Peter  was  in  Rome  is  so  clear  in  Christian  an- 
tiquity that  it  is  a  shame  to  confess  that  anyone  ever 
denied  iV  ^ 

To  quote  only  one  of  the  ancient  writers,  St.  Clem- 
ent of  Rome,  a  disciple  of  Peter  and  Paul,  speaking 
of  the  faithful  sacrificed  by  Nero,  says  of  Peter  and 
Paul:  "They  were  a  great  example  among  us.  It 
was  here  that  they  bore  the  outrages  of  men  and  en- 
dured all  kiiids  of  tortures.'' 

The  American  historian,  Philip  Van  Ness  Myers, 
says :  '* "Without  doubt  he  (Peter)  preached  at  Rome 
and  suffered  martyrdom  there  under  the  Emperor 
Nero."« 

Babylon.  St.  Peter  wrote  his  first  epistle  from 
Rome,  calling  the  capitol  by  the  name  Babylon.'' 
This  name  was  a  symbol  of  pagan  power  and  perse- 
cution of  the  people  of  God,  burned  into  the  Jewish 
mind  by  the  memory  of  their  captivity  in  the  an- 
cient Babylon  of  the  East.  Peter  was  not  in  the 
Assyrian  Babylon,  which  had  fallen  to  desolation 
before  his  day.  Pagan  Rome,  with  its  imperial 
grandeur  and  its  grasping  power,  crushing  out  the 
independence  of  the  Jewish  nation,  ready  with  exile 
or  the  cross  for  the  individual  Jew,  was  the  new 
Babylon  of  the  West.  We  find  the  same  name  ap- 
plied to  pagan  Rome,  in  his  Apocalypse,^  by  St. 

*  Hist,  of  Eccl.  Writers,  V.  I.,  p.  5. 
'"  Memoirs. 

*  Ancient  History,  p.  583. 
U.  Peter,  5,   13. 

'  Apoc.  (Revelations)  17,  5.  Some  fanatics  misinterpret  as  prophecy 
about  the  Catholic  Church,  John's  descriptions  of  the  abomination  of 
ancient  paganism.  Speaking  of  the  Beast  and  Babylon,  of  the 
Apocalypse,  the  Expositor's  Bible  says:  "Babylon,  cannot  be  papal 
Rome.  It  is  impossible  to  treat  of  the  papal  church  as  the  guide  and 
inspirer  of  Anti-Christian  efforts  to  dethrone  the  Redeemer  and  to  sub- 
stitute the  world  or  devil  in  His  stead.     The  Papal  Church  has  toiled, 


ST.  PETER  IN  ROME  71 

John,  who  had  been  scalded  with  hot  oil  under  the 
Emperor  Domitian  and  then  exiled  to  Patmos. 
"From  the  time  of  the  Neronian  persecution  this 
usage  was  common."^  That  Rome  is  the  Babylon 
of  Pefer's  Epistle,  is  quite  agreed  by  the  best  schol- 
ars, Catholic  and  non-Catholic.  Among  the  latter 
are  Ellicott's  Commentary  and  the  Speaker's  Com- 
mentary which  says:  "We  find  an  absolute  consen- 
sus of  ancient  interpreters  that  there  Babylon  must 
be  understood  as  equivalent  to  Rome."    - 

Rome's  Monuments.  Rome  herself  has  been  ever 
eloquent  of  her  two  glorious  apostles.  In  every 
century  of  the  Christian  era,  their  memory  has  been 
associated  with  places  and  buildings,  the  monuments 
of  their  presence  and  martyrdom.  Over  the  eternal 
city,  visible  for  miles  in  every  direction,  towers 
Michael  Angelo's  dome,  beneath  which  lies  the  body 
of  St.  Peter.  His  resting  place  there  on  the  Vatican 
hill,  has  been  the  site  of  a  Christian  church  froni 
the  earliest  days.  Nearby  on  the  Janiculum,  an- 
other church  marks  the  site  of  his  crucifixion.  Out- 
side the  walls  of  Rome,  on  the  Ostian  way,  stands 
the  noble  basilica  with  the  body  of  St.  Paul;  while 
further  on  the  same  road,  the  famous  three  foun- 
tains mark  the  spot  where  Paul  shed  his  blood.  In 
the  church  of  St.  John  Lateran,  the  cathedral  of  the 
city  since  the  days  of  Constantine,  preserved  in 
magnificent  reliqueries,  are  the  heads  of  both  apos- 
tles and  the  wooden  table  at  which  St.  Peter  cele- 
brated the  Mass  or  Lord's  Supper.  The  visitor  to 
Rome  may  still  penetrate  the  depths  of  the  Mamer- 
tine  prison,  where  Peter  and  Paul  awaited  their 
martyrdom:  and  elsewhere  gaze  upon  the  chains 
which  bound  the  prince  of  the  apostles  in  his  old 
age  and  led  him  where  he  would  not. 

suffered,  and  died  for  Christ." — Vol.  — "Book  of  Revelation,"  Ch.  13, 
p.  295.     Funk  &  Wagnalls,   1900. 

»  Stand.  Diet,  of  Bible,  Funk  &  Wagnalls,  1909,  Art.  Peter. 


72  THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

A  Living  Witness.  But  Rome  has  another  testi- 
mony of  Peter's  presence  more  convincing  than  any 
of  these.  There  on  the  Vatican  hill,  beside  the 
splendid  world  cathedral  with  its  Cathedra  Petri, 
dwells  still'the  successor  of  Peter  in  the  primacy  of 
the  Church.  Through  all  the  centuries  the  Popes 
have  been  there,  from  Jtome  ruling  the  universal 
Church  with  an  authority  acknowledged  as  the  au- 
thority given  by  Christ  to  Peter.  The  spectacle  of 
the  Popes,  throughout  the  ages  the  chief  pastors 
of  the  Church,  is  a  living  witness  that  St.  Peter  was 
the  first  bishop  of  Rome. 

Nero  might  put  to  death  the  Apostles  Peter  and 
Paul  and  a  host  of  other  martyrs.  But  their  blood 
has  had  a  vengeance  worthy  of  the  saints.  As  in  the 
arena  of  the  Circus  Maximus  the  broad  shoulders  of 
the  faithful  Ursus  bended  over  the  horns  of  the  in- 
furiated bull,  to  which  was  lashed  the  fair  body  of 
Lygia;  so  in  the  arena  of  Rome  Christianity  and 
Paganism  contended  long  in  the  awful  struggle  for 
the  soul  of  man.  In  the  Circus,  at  last  slowly, 
slowly,  the  beast  weakens  under  the  superhuman 
strength  of  Ursus,  and  sinks  to  the  ground.  So 
Paganism  gradually  succumbed  to  the  supernatural 
power  of  Christian  truth  and  life,  and  died  with  the 
cry  of  defeat:  Nazarene  thou  hast  conquered.  The 
blood  of  the  martyrs  was  the  seed  of  their  faith. 

The  Eternal  City.  Rome  is  no  longer  the  capital 
of  the  pagan  world,  but  of  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ:  no  longer  the  center  of  every  idolatry,  but 
the  center  from  which  the  light  of  Christian  truth 
has  spread  over  the  earth.  The  throne  of  Nero  has 
fallen:  his  empire  has  crumbled  away:  his  name 
lives  only  as  the  symbol  of  all  that  is  abominable  in 
human  nature.  The  chair  of  Peter  remains:  his 
spiritual  kingdom  embraces  continents  the  Csesars 
never  knew:  his  successor  still  proclaims  to  the  city 


SUCCESSORS  OP  PETER  73 

and  the  world,  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  living  God. 

All  roads  still  lead  to  Rome:  and  the  pilgrims  of 
the  centuries  go  to  learn  the  lessons  of  human  great- 
ness and  human  nothingness  which  her  hoary  stones 
can  teach  so  well.  Rome  is  the  field  where  all  the 
world  has  battled  for  a  thousand  causes.  Her  streets 
have  echoed  the  footsteps  of  those  whose  names  are 
written  in  history.  And  those  echoes  repeat  the 
lesson  that  all  that  remains  is  the  eternal  and  all 
that  triumphs  is  the  cause  of  God.  In  Rome,  the 
conqueror  has  been  conquered  for  Christ,  and  lives 
as  the  eternal  city,  to  glorify  His  name.  She  has 
consecrated  the  blood-stained  sands  of  the  Colosseum 
to  the  memory  of  the  martyrs  and  their  Master.  On 
the  proud  pillars  of  Trajan  and  Antonine,  she  has 
placed  the  statues  of  her  glorious  apostles.  From 
the  Circus  Maximus,  she  has  brought  the  obelisk, 
round  which  blazed  the  wheels  of  chariots  but  whose 
ancient  home  was  dark,  mysterious  Egypt,  and 
placed  it  in  the  square  of  St.  Peter's,  as  the  pedestal 
of  the  Cross  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  great  school 
of  the  Propaganda,  she  has  gathered  a.round  her 
choice  youths  of  every  land;  and  over  its  doors  are 
read  Christ's  words  of  her  commission  and  of  their 
work:  Ite  et  docete  omnes  gentes — Go  and  teach 
all  the  nations. 

17.     THE  SUCCESSORS  OF  PETER. 

From  the  beginning,  the  successors  of  Peter  in  the 
Bishopric  of  Rome,  have  filled  the  office  of  primate 
of  the  whole  Church.  Catalogues  of  the  earliest 
Popes  have  come  down  to  us  from  Ireneeus,  Eusebius, 
Jerome,  Augustine  and  others.  In  all  of  these  lists 
Linus,  of  w^hom  St.  Paul  makes  mention,^  is  made 

III.  Tim.  4,  21. 


74  THE  CHUECH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

the  immediate  successor  of  St.  Peter.  Linus  is  fol- 
lowed by  Cletus  or  Anacletus,  who  was  martyred 
under  Domitian  in  91.  Then  comes  Clement,  a  dis- 
ciple of  Peter  and  fellow-laborer  of  Paul,^  whose 
epistle  written  *'in  the  name  of  the  Roman  Church" 
to  quell  some  trouble  among  the  Christians  at  Cor- 
inth, was  long  read  in  the  churches  with  the  inspired 
apostolic  writings.  These  Popes  w^ere  martyred,  as 
were  almost  all  the  30  Popes  of  the  first  three  cen- 
turies. 

Acts  of  Primacy.  In  spite  of  the  constant  perse- 
cution of  the  first  centuries,  which  drove  the  Chris- 
tions  to  the  catacombs  and  little  tended  to  encour- 
age the  unnecessary  exposure  of  their  Bishops  as 
the  leaders  of  the  condemned  religion,  the  historical 
fragments  from  those  earliest  days  contain  a  long 
series  of  facts — appeals  of  troubled  churches  or  in- 
dividuals throughout  the  world  and  acts  of  universal 
jurisdiction,  which  eloquently  testify  that  the  suc- 
cessors of  Peter  were  ever  the  center  of  unity  and 
authority  in  the  Church. 

Thus  St.  Clement  writes  to  the  Corinthians  in  the 
name  of  the  Roman  Church.  In  this  letter,  written 
before  the  opening  of  the  second  century,  Harnack,^ 
recognizes  '  language  that  was  at  once  an  expression 
of  duty,  love  and  authority.  ^ '  Lightf oot  *  admits  an 
*' urgent  and  almost  imperious  tone,"  and  even  ''the 
first  steps  toward  papal  dominion." 

St.  Ignatius  Martyr  of  Antioch,  writes  to  Rome  as 
to  the  first  See  in  dignity,  being  the  Church  of  Peter 
and  Paul.  St.  Cyprian,  Bishop  of  Carthage,  speaks 
of  Rome  as  the  See  of  Peter  and  the  principal 
Chureh;  whence  comes  the  unity  of  the  priesthood; 
whose  faith  has  been  commended  by  the  apostles ;  to 
whom  faithlessness  has  no  access.     St.  Polycarp  of 

'Phil.  4,  3. 

•Hist,  of  Dogma,  II,  3;  Excursus,  Eng.  Transl.  p.  156. 

*  Clement  of  Rome,  I.,  p.  69,  70. 


SUCCESSORS  OF  PETER  75 

Smyrna,  a  disciple  of  St.  John,  has  recourse  to  Rome 
on  the  question  of  Easter.  St.  Irenteus  calls  Rome 
the  greatest  Church  of  Peter  and  Paul ;  and  appeals 
to  its  teaching,  declaring  that  to  it  every  church 
that  is  faithful  must  resort.  Later  Pope  Victor, 
(192-202),  threatens  to  excommunicate  the  churches 
of  Asia.  The  priests  of  Alexandria  appeal  to  Pope 
Dionysius  (259-269)  against  their  bishop.  The 
heretic  Marcion,  excommunicated  in  Pontus,  ap- 
peals to  Rome:  as  do  the  Montanists  of  Phrygia, 
Praxeas  from  Asia,  and  Basilides  deposed  in  Spain. 
Soter,  Bishop  of  Rome  (168-177)  sends  alms  and  the 
affectionate  exhortation  of  a  father  to  all  the 
churches  of  the  empire.  TertuUian  says:  *^0 
Church  happy  in  its  position,  into  which  the  apos- 
tles poured  out  together  with  their  blood,  their  whole 
doctrine."  As  Rome  w^as  the  head  in  the  first  two 
hundred  years,  so  has  it  been  through  the  centuries. 

U  Not  Rome,  What?  When  the  student  of  histwy 
contemplates  how  the  other  cities, — Jerusalem,  An- 
tioch,  Alexandria, — ^^vhich  in  their  day  might  have 
seemed  likely  capitals  for  the  Church,  were  destined 
at  an  early  date  to  pass  beneath  the  Moslem  yoke 
and  become  a  prey  to  barbarism,  without  influence 
in  the  world  and  quite  incapable  of  doing  the  work 
which  the  Church  had  to  do  and  which  Rome  has 
done, — viz.,  the  civilization  and  Christianization  of 
the  nations  of  Europe — he  may  well  wonder  what 
would  have  been  the  history  of  Christianity  without 
Rome  as  its  capital:  and  he  must  admire  the  Provi- 
dence that  seated  St.  Peter  and  his  successors  in  the 
eternal  city. 

The  Pope  and  Christ.  Peter  and  the  Popes  do  not 
supersede  Christ  or  set  up  an  authority  independent 
of  Christ.  The  Church  is  the  continuation  of 
Christ's  work  in  the  world.  The  Pope  is  the  servant 
of  the  servants,  the  ambassador  delivering  the  Mas- 


76  THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

ter's  message,  the  general  commanding  the  King's 
army  on  the  field  of  battle,  the  governor  administer- 
ing the  Sovereign's  law  by  the  Sovereign's  authority. 
In  the  tribune  of  the  church  of  St.  Paul  outside  the 
walls  of  Rome,  is  a  mosaic  of  the  13th  century — a 
golden  age  of  papal  influence.  It  pictures  well  the 
relation  of  the  Pope  to  Christ.  Christ  is  depicted  in 
heroic  stature,  surrounded  by  Peter  and  Paul  and 
their  disciples  Mark  and  Luke.  At  the  feet  of 
Christ  kneels  Pope  Honorius;  his  figure  so  compar- 
atively small  as  scarcely  to  be  seen.  His  work  is  to 
exalt  Christ  and  draw  the  world  to  him.  If  the 
Pope  is  great  and  venerable  among  men,  his  glory  is 
the  glory  of  the  Master  whom  he  represents. 

Christ's  Promises  Fulfilled.  Through  the  ages, 
the  Papacy  as  a  matter  of  fact,  has  been  the  rock  of 
central  authority  that  has  united  the  Church  in 
faith  and  organization.  In  its  long  history  how 
mmiy  a  storm  has  the  Church  known,  from  enemies 
without  and  within,  from  national  spirit  and  political 
intrigue,  from  pride  and  avarice  and  ambition.  F-ull 
often  'Hhe  rain  descended,  the  flood  came,  the  winds 
blew  and  beat  against  that  house :  and  it  fell  not  be- 
cause it  was  built  upon  the  rock." 

When  schism  threatened  to  divide  the  Church,  and 
Satan,  arrayed  most  often  as  an  angel  of  light,^ 
would  scatter  the  sheep,  and  men  might  hesitate  to 
which  party  to  turn,  the  faithful  remembered  who  it 
was  that  Christ  made  their  shepherd;  and  their 
watchword  was  the  phrase  of  St.  Ambrose:  Ubi 
Petrus  Ibi  Ecclesia.  Where  Peter  is  there  is  the 
Church. 

In  the  day  of  heresy,  when  error  contended  with 
truth  for  victory  and  leadership,  men  could  listen  to 
the  Church  of  Peter  against  which  the  gates  of  hell 

°  Under  the  pretext  of  reforming  Christ's  Church,  men  have  struck  the 
deadliest  blows  at  its  unity. 


HIERARCHY  OF  THE  CHURCH  77 

can  not  prevail  ®  and  say  with  St.  Augustine :  Roma 
locuta  est,  causa  finita  est.  Rome  has  spoken,  the 
case  is  settled. 

If  to-day  the  300  million  members  of  the  Church 
are  not  cast  about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine  and 
split  up  into  a  hundred  sects,  but  stand  as  one  man 
in  faith  and  organization,  it  is  because  we  stand  with 
Christ's  Pope  on  the  rock  of  central  authority. 
Without  the  Pope,  St.  Peter  has  no  successor  in  the 
universal  pastorate  given  him  by  Christ.  Without 
this  visible  head  the  Christian  people  were  indeed  as 
chaff  before  the  wind.  Men  may,  if  they  will,  dis- 
pute the  meaning  of  the  words  of  Christ.  Men  may 
misinterpret  His  prophecy  in  their  own  minds.  But 
God  does  not  misinterpret  Himself  in  history.  The 
history  of  1900  years  is  His  interpretation.  The 
present  Pope  is  a  link  in  the  unbroken  chain  that 
unites  us  with  Peter  and  the  Apostles  in  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

After  lecturing  on  this  subject,  the  writer  once 
asked  a  celebrated  non-Catholic  lawyer  who  was  in 
the  audience,  whether,  given  a  competent  court,  he 
could  hope  to  win  the  case  of  Peter  and  the  succeed- 
ing Bishops  of  Rome,  as  claimants  to  the  Primacy  of 
the  Christian  Church.  He  answered:  *'I  only  wish 
I  had  half  as  much  good  evidence  for  every  case  I 
defend." 

18.     THE  HIERARCHY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

As  any  American  boy  may  aspire  to  be  president 
of  the  United  States,  so  any  boy  in  the  world  may 
possibly  become  the  Pope,  the  Primate  of  the  Uni- 
versal Church.  The  hierarchy  of  the  Church  estab- 
lished by  divine  ordination,  consists  of  bishops, 
priests  and  subordinate  ministers.^     Any  boy  feeling 

»Eph.  4,   14. 

1  C.  Trent  Sess.  23,  Can.  6. 


78  THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 

within  himself  the  divine  vocation,  and  judged  by 
his  bishop  to  be  a  worthy  candidate,  may  become, 
through  the  sacrament  of  Holy  Orders,  a  deacon  and 
a  priest. 

The  Bishop.  The  bishopric  is  the  fullness  of  the 
Christian  priesthood — the  succession  of  the  apos- 
tolic office.  The  Pope  is  the  chief  Bishop.  The 
bishops  are  the  proper  pastors  of  their  dioceses,  ''set 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  feed  the  Church  of  God."^ 
They  alone  can  perpetuate  the  priesthood  by  ordain- 
ing priests  and  consecrating  bishops.  They  can  make 
and  dispense  laws  for  the  government  of  their  re- 
spective dioceses.  They  form  the  general  council  of 
the  Church.  They  assign  duties  to  their  clergy, 
who  preach  and  discharge  the  sacred  ministry  only 
with  the  jurisdiction  given  them  by  the  bishop. 

"While  the  bishop,  after  his  appointment,  rules  his 
diocese  by  ordinary  jurisdiction  inherent  in  the  of- 
fice,— and  not  merely  as  the  delegate  of  another,  he 
must  of  course  administer  and  teach  in  harmony  with 
the  general  laws  and  faith  of  the  universal  Church, 
and  in  submission  to  its  central  authority.  Appeal 
may  be  made  from  the  actions  of  a  bishop  by  his  sub- 
jects, to  the  Pope  or  his  delegate.  After  proper 
process  of  law  in  the  ecclesiastical  courts,  the  bishop 
may  be  sustained,  corrected  or  even  deposed.  The 
laws  regulating  the  rights  and  relations  of  persons  in 
the  Church,  as  well  as  methods  of  legal  procedure, 
that  have  accumulated  through  the  experience  and 
wisdom  of  centuries,  make  up  the  body  of  canon  law. 

Organization.  The  organization  of  the  300  million 
members  of  the  Church,  proceeds  along  practically 
the  same  lines  in  each  country,  and  may  be  illus- 
trated by  the  Church  in  the  United  States.  The 
laity,  individuals  and  families  belong  to  the  parish. 
Its  limits  are  set,   ordinarily  by  considerations  of 

a  Act.  20,  28. 


HIERARCHY  OF  THE  CHURCH  79 

distance,  every  one  being  a  member  of  the  nearest 
church;  or  extraordinarily  by  the  requirements  of 
language.  The  pastors  of  parishes  and  other  priests 
and  religious  officials  belong  to  the  diocese,  whose 
members  are  thus  all  united  in  their  bishop. 

The  bishops  of  the  several  dioceses  of  a  state  or 
other  convenient  district,  make  up  a  province  ^  and 
are  called  its  suffragans;  while  one  of  their  number 
presides  with  the  title  of  archbishop  or  metropolitan. 
The  archbishops  of  the  country  meet  together  under 
one  of  their  number  who  thus  acts  as  national  pri- 
mate and  is  generally  a  cardinal. 

The  Catholic  directory  for  1913  gives  for  the 
United  States,  not  including  our  island  possessions : 

3  Cardinals. 

1  Apostolic  Delegate. 

14  Archbishops. 

97  Bishops. 

17,491  Priests. 

15,154,158  Members. 
The  Church  throughout  the  world  includes,  in  the 
year  of  Our  Lord,  1912: 

1  Pope. 

64  Cardinals  (Full  College  70). 

201  Archbishoprics. 

802  Bishoprics. 

350,000  (about)  Priests. 

292,787,085  Catholics. 
Cardinals  Elect  Pope.  The  Pope  is  elected  by 
the  College  of  Cardinals  who  make  up  the  Senate  of 
the  Church  and  represent  the  various  nations.*  The 
Cardinals  are  appointed  by  the  Pope.  They  may  be 
the  Bishops  of  ancient  or  important  Sees,  like  Cardi- 

'  At  the  present  time,  in  the  United  States,  the  Bishops  of  the  Prov- 
ince and  the  representative  clergy  of  the  vacant  diocese  respectively  elect 
sets  of  three  names  (terna)  from  which  normally  the  Pope  chooses  one 
as  bishop. 

*  C.  Trent  Sess.  24,  Can.  1. 


80 


THE  CHUKCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 


nal  Gibbons  of  Baltimore  or  the  Archbishops  of 
Westminster  and  Paris;  and  so  naturally  act  as  the 
leading  prelates  of  the  land.  Or  they  may  be  priests 
who  are  thus  honored  for  their  genius  and  signal 
service  to  the  Church,  like  Cardinal  Newman;  or 
like  some  Cardinals  in  Rome,  priests  whose  theolog- 
ical, legal,  or  historical  attainments  are  devoted  to 
assisting  in  the  government  of  the  Church  in  its  dif- 
ferent departments  of  higher  education,  diplomacy 
or  missionary  propaganda.  Or  again,  they  may  be 
deacons,  as  was  Cardinal  Antonelli,  the  papal  secre- 
tary of  Pius  IX.  The  Cardinals  then  are.  not  a  di- 
vinely constituted  or  distinct  order,  as  are  priests 
and  bishops;  but  they  are,  in  the  highest  sense,  a 
body  representative  of  the  w^hole  membership  of  the 
Church. 

While  the  Pope  may  thus  be  said  to  be  elected  by 
the  people,  through  their  representatives,  he  does 
not  receive  from  them  his  authority  or  power.  He 
is  Pope  not  as  their  representative,  but  as  God's  rep- 
resentative. He  is  selected  by  them  for  the  office. 
By  virtue  of  holding  the  office,  he  exercises  the  au- 
thority which  belongs  to  it  by  the  will  of  God,  and 
which  Christ  first  entrusted  to  the  Apostle  Peter. 


19.    LIST  OF  THE  POPES. 

ACCORDING  TO  "GERARCHIA  CATTOLICA." 

Elected  Died  Elected  Died 

1.  St.    Peter 67  12.   St.    Soterus,    M.  166  175 

2.  St.     Linus,     M.  .      67          76  13.   St.      Eleutherius, 

3.  St.    Cletus,    M...      76          88                       M     175  189 

4.  St.  Clement  I,  M     88          97  14.   St.  Victor   I,   M.  189  199 

5.  St.   Evaristus,   M     97       105  15.  St.     Zephyrinus, 

6.  St.    Alexander   I,                                            M     199  217 

M     105        115  16.   St.     CaUistus     I, 

7.  St.   Sixtus  I,  M.    115        125         ^            M     217  222 

8.  St.     Telesphorus,  17.   St.  Urban  I,  M.  222  230 

M     125        136  IS.   St.    Pontian,    M.  230  235 

9.  St.   Hyginus,    M.    136        140  19.   St.    Anterus,    M.  235  236 

10.  St.    Pius   I,    M.  .    140        155  20.   St.    Fabian,    M.  .  236  250 

11.  St.   Anicetus,   M.    155        166  21.   St.    Cornelius,    M  251  253 


LIST  OF  THE  POPES 


81 


22. 
23. 

24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 

30. 

31. 
32. 
33. 
34. 
35. 
36. 
37. 
38. 
39. 
40. 
41. 
12. 
13. 
44. 
45. 

46. 
47. 
48. 
49. 
50. 
51. 
52. 
53. 
54. 
55. 
56. 
57. 
58. 
59. 
60. 
61. 
62. 
63. 
64. 

65. 
66. 
67. 


70. 
71. 
72. 
73. 
74. 
75. 
76. 


Elected 

St.  Lucius  I,  M.  253 
St.  Stephanus  I., 

M     254 

St.  Sixtus  II,  M.  257 

St.   Dionysius    .  .  259 

St.   Felix   I,   M.  .  269 

St.  Eutychian,  M  275 

St.    Caius,    M.  .  .  283 
St.      Marcellinus, 

M     296 

St.    Marcellus    I, 

M     308 

St.     Euscbius.  .  309 

St,    Melchiades.  .  311 

St.    Sylvester    I.  314 

St.    Mark     336 

St.   Julius   I 337 

St.    Liberius    .  .  .  352 

St.    Damasus    I.  366 

St.   Siricius    ....  384 

St.   Anastasiu^    I  399 

St.     Innocent     I  401 

St.    Zozimus    ...  417 

St.   Boniface  I.  .  418 

St.    Celestine    I.  422 

St.    Sixtus    III.  .  432 
St.    Leo    I     (the 

Great)      440 

St.    Hilary    461 

St.    Simplic'ius     .  468 

St.    Felix    III.  ..  483 

St.    Gelasius    I.  .  492 

St.  Anastasius  II  496 

St.     Symmachus.  498 

St.    Hormisdas.  .  514 

St.  John  I,    M.  .  523 

St.    Felix    IV.  .  .  526 

Boniface    II.  .  .  .  530 

John    II    532 

St.    Agapitus     .  .  535 

St.    Silverius.    M  536 

Vigilius      538 

Pelagius    1 555 

John    III     561 

Benedict   I    ....  575 

Pelagius    II     ...  579 
St.      Gregory      I 

(the   Great    .  .  590 

Sabinian      604 

Boniface    III.  .  .  607 

St.    Boniface    IV  608 

St.  Adeodatus  I.  615 

Boniface     V 619 

Honorius  I    .  .  .  .  625 

Severinus     640 

John  IV    640 

Theodore  I    .  .  .  .  642 

St.   Martin  I.,   M  649 

St.   Eugene   I.  .  .  655 

St.    Vitalian    . .  .  657 


Died 

Elected 

Died 

254 

77. 

Adeodatus   II    . 

.    672 

67e 

78. 

Donus   I    

.    676 

678 

257 

79. 

St.    Agatho    .  .  . 

.    fi78 

681 

258 

80. 

St.   Leo   II    .  .  . 

.    682 

683 

268 

81. 

St.   Benedict   II 

.    684 

685 

274 

82. 

John  V    

.    685 

686 

283 

83. 

Conon     

.    686 

687 

296 

84. 

St.   Sergius   I    . 

.    687 

701 

85. 

John  VI    

.    701 

705 

304 

86. 

John   VII    

.    705 

707 

87. 

Sisinnius      .  .  .  . 

.    708 

708 

309 

88. 

Constantine 

.    708 

715 

309 

89. 

St.   Gregory  II. 

.    715 

731 

314 

90. 

St.    Gregory    II 

I   731 

741 

335 

91. 

St.    Zachary    .  . 

.    741 

752 

336 

92. 

St.   Stephen   II. 

.    752 

752 

352 

93. 

Stephen    III. . . 

.    752 

757 

366 

94. 

St.    Paul   I    .  .  . 

.    757 

767 

384 

95. 

Stephen    IV    .  . 

.    768 

772 

399 

96. 

Adrian  I 

.    772 

795 

401 

97. 

St.  Leo  III    .  .  . 

.    795 

816 

417 

98. 

St.  Stephen  V   . 

.    816 

817 

418 

99. 

St.   Paschal  I.. 

.    817 

824 

422 

100. 

Eugene    II    .  .  . 
Valentine     .  .  .  . 

.    824 

827 

432 

101. 

.    827 

827 

440 

102. 

Gregory    IV     .  . 

.    828 

844 

103. 

Sergius    II     .  ... 

.    844 

847 

461 

104. 

St.   Leo  IV    .  .  . 

.    847 

855 

468 

105. 

Benedict    III.. 

.    855 

858 

483 

106. 

St.       Nicolas 

I 

492 

(the   Great) 

.    &58 

867 

496 

107. 

Adrian     II 

.    867 

872 

498 

108. 

John    VIII    .  .  . 

.    872 

882 

514 

109. 

Marinus    I     ... 

.    882 

884 

523 

110. 

St.  Adrian  III. 

.    884 

885 

526 

111. 

Stephen  VI   .  .  . 

.    885 

891 

530 

112. 

Formosus     .... 

.    891 

896 

532 

113. 

Boniface  VII    . 

.    896 

896 

535 

114. 

Stephen     VI .  .  . 

.    896 

897 

536 

115. 

Roraanus    

.    897 

897 

538 

116. 

Theodore    11 .  .  . 

.    897 

897 

555 

117. 

John   IX    

.    898 

900 

561 

118. 

Benedict    IV     . 

.    900 

903 

574 

119. 

Leo    V     

.    903 

903 

579 

120. 

Sergius    III    .  . 

.    904 

911 

590 

121. 

Anastasius     III 

.    911 

913 

122. 

Landus      

.    913 

914 

604 

123. 

John    X     

.    914 

928 

606 

124. 

Leo   VI    

.    928 

928 

607 

125. 

Stephen     VIII. 

.    929 

931 

615 

126. 

John   XI    

.    931 

935 

618 

127. 

Leo  VII    

.    936 

939 

625 

128. 

Stephen    JX    .  . 

.    939 

942 

638 

129. 

Marinus  II    ... 

.    942 

946 

640 

130. 

Agapitus    II.  .  .  , 

.    946 

955 

642 

131. 

John   XII    

.    955 

964 

649 

132. 

Leo   VIII    

.    963 

965 

655 

133. 

Benedict  V 

,    964 

966 

657 

134. 

John    XIII 

,    965 

972 

672 

135. 

Benedict  VI   .  . . 

,    973 

974 

82 


THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SOCIETY 


136. 
137. 
138. 
139. 
140. 
141. 
142. 
143. 
144. 
145. 
146. 
147. 
148. 
149. 
150. 
151. 
152. 
153. 
154. 
155. 
156. 
157. 
158. 
159. 
160. 
161. 
162. 
163. 
164. 
165. 
166. 
167. 
168. 
169. 
170. 
171. 
172. 
173. 
174. 
175. 
176. 
177. 
178. 
179. 
180. 
181. 
182. 
183. 
184. 
185. 
186. 
187. 
188. 
189. 
190. 
191. 
192. 
193. 
194. 
195. 


Elected 

Died 

Benedict  VII 

..    974 

983 

196 

John    XIV.. 

.  .    983 

984 

197. 

John   XV    .  . 

.  .    985 

996 
999 

198 

Gregory   V    . 

..    996 

199 

Sylvester    II. 

..    999 

1003 

200 

John  XVII   . 

. .1003 

1003 

201. 

John     XVIII 

..1004 

1009 

202 

Sergius   IV.  . 

..1009 

1012 

203 

Benedict   VII] 

[.  .1012 

1024 

204. 

John  XIX   . . 

..1024 

1032 

205. 

Benedict  IX 

. .1032 

1044 

206 

Sylvester    III 

..1045 

1045 

Benedict  IX 

. .1045 

1045 

Gregory    VI 

. .1045 

1046 

Clement  II    . 

. .1046 

1047 

Benedict    IX 

. .1047 

1048 

Damasus    II. 

. .1048 

1048 

207. 

St.  Leo  IX   . 

..1049 

1054 

208. 

Victor    II... 

.V.1055 

1057 

209. 

Stephen   X    . 

..1057 

1058 

210 

Nicholas  II   . 

. .1059 

1061 

211. 

Alexander    II 

. .1061 

1073 

212. 

St.  Gregory  V 

tI.1073 

1085 

213. 

B.    Victor    II] 

[..1087 

1087 

214. 

B.    Urban    II 

...1088 

1099 

215. 

Paschal  II    . 

..1099 

1118 

216. 

Gelasius     II. 

. .1118 

1119 

217. 

Callistus    II 

. .1119 

1124 

218. 

Honorius   II. 

. .1124 

1130 

219. 

Innocent    II. 

..1130 

1143 

220. 

Celestine    II. 

. .1143 

1144 

221. 

Lucius  n.  .  . 

..1144 

1145 

222. 

B.  Eugene  III 

[.  .1145 

1153 

223. 

Anastasius    I"V 

^.1153 

1154 

224. 

Adrian    IV.. 

.  .1154 

1159 

225. 

Alexander    II] 

[.  .1159 

1181 

226. 

Lucius    III.  . 

. .1181 

1185 

227. 

Urban    III.. 

..1185 

1187 

228. 

Gregory     VIE 

[..1187 

1187 

229 

Clement   III. 

. .1187 

1191 

230. 

Celestine    III 

..1198 

1216 

231. 

Innocent    III 

. .1198 

1216 

232. 

Honorius   III 

..1216 

1227 

233. 

Gregory    IX. 

..1227 

1241 

234. 

Celestine  IV .  . 

. .1241 

1241 

235. 

Innocent     IV 

. .4243 

1254 

236. 

'Alexander     I"V 

\ .1254 

1261 

237. 

Urbanius    IV 

. .1261 

1264 

238 

Clement    IV. 

. .1265 

1268 

239. 

B.    Gregory    X 

:..1271 

1276 

240. 

B.  Innocent  '\ 

^ .1276 

1276 

241. 

Adrian    V.  .. 

. .1276 

1276 

242. 

John    XXI... 

..1276 

1277 

243. 

Nicholas  III. 

. .1277 

1280 

244. 

IVfartin    IV.  . 

..1281 

1285 

245 

Honorius    IV 

. .1285 

1287 

246. 

Nicholas   IV. 

. .1288 

1292 

247. 

St.    Celestine 

V.1294 

tl294 

248. 

Boniface   VIIl 

[..1294 

1303 

249. 

B.  Benedict  J 

[1.1303 

1304 

250. 

Elected  Died 

Clement    V 1305  1314 

John  XXII 1316  1334 

Benedict   XII...  1334  1342 

Clement     VI....  1342  1352 

Innocent     VI...  1352  1362 

B.  Urban  V 1362  1370 

Gregory    XI....  1370  1378 

Urban     VI 1378  1389 

Boniface  IX.  .  .  .1389  1404 

Innocent  VII,  .  .1404  1406 

Gregory     XII...  1406  tl415 

(Clement    V)...1378  1394 
(Benedict 

XIII)     1394  1423 

(Alexander  V)  .  .1409  1410 

(John     XXIII).  1410  1415 

Martin    V 1417  1431 

Eugene   IV 1431  1447 

Nicholas   V 1447  1455 

Callistus     III...  1455  1458 

Pius     II 1458  1464 

Paul     II 1464  1471 

Sixtus   IV 1471  1484 

Innocent    VIII..1484  1492 

Alexander     VI..  1492  1503 

Pius  III 1503  1503 

Julius    II 1503  1513 

Leo    X 1513  1521 

Adrian    VI 1522  1523 

Clement     VII...  1523  1534 

Paul  III 1534  1549 

Julius     III 1550  1555 

Marcellus  II 1555  1555 

Paul   IV.  .  ..  .'.  .1555  1559 

Pius     IV 1559  1565 

St.   Pius  V 1566  1572 

Gregory    XIIL..1572  1585 

Sixtus    V 1585  1590 

Urban    VII 1590  1590 

Gregory    XIV...  1590  1591 

Innocent  IX 1591  1591 

Clement     VIII..1592  1605 

Leo   XI 1605  1605 

Paul    V 1605  1621 

Gregory   XV 1621  1623 

Urban   VIII 1623  1644 

Innocent     X....1644  1655 

Alexander     VII.  1655  1667 

Clement    IX 1667  1669 

Clement    X 1670  1676 

Innocent     XI...  1676  1689 

Alexander    VIII.1689  1691 

Innocent  XII.  .  .1691  1700 

Clement    XI 1700  1721 

Innocent     XIII.  1721  1724 

Benedict    XIII.. 1724  1730 

Clement     XII...  1730  1740 

Benedict     XIV..  1740  1758 

Clement  XIII .  .  .  1758  1769 

Clement   XIV...  1769  1774 


LIST  OF  THE  POPES  83 


Elected  Died  Elected  Died 

251.  Pius    VT 1774      1799  255.   Gregory   XVI... 1831      1846 

252.  Pius    Vir 1800      1823        256.   Pius    IX 1846      1878 

253.  Leo    XII 1823      1829        257.   Leo    XIII 1878      1903 

254.  Pius    VIII 1829      1830        258.   Pius    X 1903      


CHAPTER  V 

THE  CHURCH  AS  A  TEACHER 
20.    FAITH. 

Jesus  Christ  is  our  King,  Prophet  and  Priest.  In 
the  continuation  of  His  work,  it  is  the  office  of  His 
Church  to  teach  as  well  as  to  govern,  and  finally  to 
sanctify.  These  three  offices  are  intimately  related. 
The  purpose  of  all  the  Church's  work  is  to  bring  men 
into  union  with  God,  and  so  to  life  eternal.  That 
through  the  truth,  men  may  find  this  life,  the 
Church  teaches  them  the  truth.  To  this  end  she 
draws  them  to  herself  as  to  the  ''city  set  upon  a 
hill, ' '  ^  and  gathers  them  around  her  in  that  king- 
dom. In  the  Church,  Christ  remains  for  us  still 
''the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life."  Having  studied 
the  Church  as  the  Christian  society,  we  shall  observe 
her  now  as  the  custodian  and  teacher  of  Christian 
truth ;  and  later  as  the  medium  of  the  Christian  life. 

Divine  Virtues.  The  pledge  of  our  life  in  Heaven 
is  our  union  with  God  begun  here  on  earth  by  faith 
and  hope  and  charity.  By  faith  we  believe  all  the 
truths  which  God  has  revealed.  From  this  belief  is 
born  the  hope  of  reaching  by  God's  mercy,  and  en- 
joying by  His  gift,  the  heavenly  things  which  we 
know  by  faith.  From  faith  and  hope  proceeds  char- 
ity, by  which  we  love  God  whom  we  know  and  hope 
for  as  the  supreme  good.     This  love  or  union  of  mind 

iMt.  5,  14. 

84 


FAITH  85 

and  heart  with  God,  we  manifest  by  conforming  our 
lives  to  whatsoever  faith  reveals  as  His  divine  will. 

Faith  is  the  foundation  of  our  life  with  God.  We 
may  have  faith  without  hope  and  love.  **The  devils 
believe  and  tremble."-  We  may  have  faith  and 
hope  without  loving  service.  "Not  everyone  that 
saith  to  me  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  father."  ^ 
Itbt  without  faith,  there  is  no  basis  for  divine  hope 
or  love ;  there  is  no  eternal  bliss  to  be  confidently 
looked  forward  to ;  no  beneficent  Father  in  Heaven 
calling  for  loyalty  and  reciprocal  love.  ** Without 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God;  for  he  that  Com- 
eth to  God,  nuist  believe  that  He  is,  and  that  He  is  a 
rewarder  of  them  that  seek  him."* 

Paul's  Description.  * 'Faith  is  the  substance  (or 
grounds)  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things 
not  seen."^  The  idea  presented  is  that  divine  faith 
is  that  light  which  gives  the  human  intellect  a  cer- 
tain apprehension  of  supernatural  things.  In  other 
words,  faith  makes  certain  to  the  mind  of  man,  the 
revealeS  truths  and  mysteries  of  God.  To  borrow 
Cardinal  Newman's  expression,  it  is  a  ''real  assent" 
to  truth  about  divine  things  that  are  either  dimly 
visible  or  totally  invisible  to  the  naked  eye  of  rea- 
son. 

Paul  illustrates  his  description  of  faith  by  an  ex- 
ample: '*  Through  faith,  we  understand  that  the 
world  was  framed  by  the  word  of  God."^  That  is 
to  say,  faith  is  belief  in  revealed  truth,  one  of  the 
first  points  of  which  is  that  God  is  the  creator  of  all 
things.  Paul  furthermore  set  forth  the  reason  why 
we  can  give  our  intelligent  assent  to  the  divine 
truths.  It  is  the  veracity  of  God  who  can  neither 
deceive  nor  be  deceived ;  ^  and  the  clearness  of  the 


'Jas.  2.  19. 

*Heb.  11,   6. 

•Heb.   11,    3. 

»Mt.  7,   21, 

•Heb.  11,  1. 

»Heb.  6,  18. 

86  THE  CHUECH  AS  A  TEACHER 

fact  that  God  has  made  a  revelation  in  divers  times 
*and  ways  and  especially  through  His  Son  Jesus 
Christ.^ 

If  eminent  scientists  tell  us  that  the  twinkling 
stars  are  in  reality  mighty  suns ;  that  no  atom  of  the 
matter  we  see  blazing  in  the  fire  is  really  annihilated ; 
that  from  ships  in  midocean  men  may  send  messages 
to  friends  in  Europe  and  America;  that  certain  dis- 
eases are  the  result  of  the  activity  of  specific  germf^ 
— and  a  thousand  other  things,  we  trust  their  testi- 
mony even  before  our  own  untrained  and  unaided 
senses.  Their  reputation  and  authority  decide  our 
minds  and  move  our  wills  to  do  so.  These  men  may 
possibly  be  wrong.  They  may  possibly  be  deceiving 
^s.  They  are  human.  But  in  spite  of  these  remote 
possibilities,  in  practical  life  we  take  these  things  for 
granted  because  competent  men  declare  them  to  be 
facts.  This  is  human  faith.  We  act  upon  it  every 
day  and  in  almost  every  movement  of  our  lives.  We 
could  not  live  in  society  without  it. 

If  Jesus  Christ  tells  me  that  the  soul  of  man  is 
immortal,  that  our  every  good  and  evil  deed  leaves 
its  record  in  eternity,  that  the  goodness  of  God  dif- 
fuses itself  to  men  making  them  partake  in  the  di- 
vine nature  and  raising  them  to  the  adoption  of  sons, 
— I  believe  these  things  to  be  true,  even  though  my 
own  unaided  reason  would  never  have  discovered 
them.  The  authority  of  Jesus  Christ  is  ample  reason 
for  my  doing  so.  His  authority  is  the  authority  of 
God  who  can  neither  deceive  nor  be  deceived.  This 
is  divine  faith.  It  is  of  divine  faith  that  our  chapter 
treats.' 

Definition.  We  may  then  define  faith  as  a  divine 
virtue  whereby  with  God 's  grace,  the  intellect  firmly 
assents  to  and  holds  as  true  whatever  God  has  re- 
vealed, precisely  because  God  has  revealed  it. 

•Heb.  1,  1. 


FAITH  87 

The  word  ''faith"  is  much  used  and  abused. 
Besides  the  primary  sense,  it  is  properly  used  in  sev- 
eral secondary  senses: — creed  or  doctrines  believed, 
pledge  or  word  of  honor,  fidelity,  loyalty,  faithfulness. 
Practicing  the  Christian  religion,  living  up  to  the 
Christian  faith,  the  virtue  of  Christian  charity,  some 
call  faith  or  living  and  saving  faith.  But  there  is 
also  much  loose  writing  about  '*  faith, '^  by  writers 
*who  do  not  know  exactly  the  meaning  they  wish  to 
attach  to  the  word.  This  has  given' rise  to  endless 
religious  discussion.  Webster  quotes  one  Dwight 
who  styles  faith  an  ''emotion  of  the  mind  called 
trust,  confidence,  exercised  toward  the  moral  char- 
acter of  God  and  particularly  of  the  Savior.''  The 
psychology  of  this  analysis  is  not  likely  to  make 
darkness  less  dark.  Another  vague  sense  noted  by 
Webster  is  "confiding  and  affectionate  belief  in  the 
person  and  work  of  Jesus.''  The  word  is  abused  to 
cover  confused  ideas  that  hardly  distinguish  between 
faith  and  hope  and  love.  Clear  conceptions  of  these 
theological  virtues  would  end  much  religious  con- 
troversy. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  when  we 
have  called  faith  the  virtue  by  which  man  accepts 
the  revelation  of  the  Eternal  Truth,  we  have  sounded 
its  depth  or  compassed  its  bounds.  The  sense  of 
sight,  of  which  faith  might  be  called  the  spiritual 
kin,  is  not  quite  stripped  of  mystery  by  the  definition 
of  the  physicist  or  his  description  of  its  function. 
Faith  is  surely  not  less  mysterious.  It  is  not  the 
conclusion  of  a  syllogism.  It  is  not  within  the  gift 
of  the  teacher.  It  is  something  so  simple  that  it 
abounds  in  the  innocent  and  childlike ;  and  yet  most 
complex  and  elusive,  involving  intellect  and  will  and 
the  whole  man.  It  is  indeed  a  gift  or  grace  of  God. 
It  is  a  virtue  and  like  other  habits,  it  may  be  neg- 
lected and  lost,  or  it  may  be  treasured  and  increased. 


88  THE  CHURCH  AS  A  TEACHER 

Percival  and  Sir  Galahad  beheld  the  Holy  Grail. 
The  pure  of  heart  shall  see  God. 


21.     CREEDS  AND  DEEDS. 

The  statement  of  what  we  believe,  the  platform  of 
our  faith,  is  technically  called  our  creed. ^  Each  sep- 
arate truth  or  doctrine  is  known  as  a  dogma.  *  Sub-* 
consciously  at  least,  every  man  has  the  material  for 
the  making  of  a  creed.'  It  may  be  very  different, 
for  better  or  worse,  from  his  formal  profession  of 
convictions.  It  largely  determines  his  actions;  be 
they  the  outrages  of  the  anarchist,  the  sensuality  of 
the  epicurean,  the  narrow  sympathies  of  the  materi- 
alist, the  expedient  hypocrisy  of  the  masked  skeptic ; 
or  on  the  other  hand,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  sincere 
lover  of  truth,  the  self-sacrifice  of  the  Sister  of  Char- 
ity, the  moral  victory  over  passion  of  the  young 
Christian,  the  patient  trust  of  the  dying  believer. 

To  be  without  dogma  or  creed  is  to  be  without  re- 
ligious principles.  To  the  man  without  ideals  noth- 
ing great  or  noble  seems  worth  while.  To  the  man 
without  faith,  the  supernatural  life  with  God  is 
meaningless.  As  far  as  his  spiritual  life  is  concerned 
such  a  man  is  like  a  ship  on  the  sea  without  chart  or 
rudder  or  destination.  I  wished  my  neighbor  a 
Merry    Christmas.     His   face    darkened   sadly.     He 

*  The  Apostles'  Creed  has  been  in  use  as  a  summary  of  Christian  faith 
since  so  early  a  date,  that  it  is  popularly  supposed  to  have  been  com- 
posed by  the  first  Apostles.  It  is  the  creed  used  in  the  administration 
of  Baptism  and  other  sacraments,  and  in  the  daily  prayers  of  the  peo- 
ple.    See  No.  51. 

Nicene  Creed.  The  Nicene  Creed  shows  its  origin  at  the  Council  of 
Nice,  in  325,  in  its  insisting  on  the  divinity  of  Christ,  then  denied  by 
the  Arians.  It  is  merely  an  amplification  of  the  Apostles'  Creed.  It 
describes  the  Church  by  the  famous  four  marks.  "One,  Holy,  Catholic 
and   Apostolic."     This    creed   is   the   formula   of   faith  repeated   in    the 

The  Creed  of  Pius  IV.,  a  clear  statement,  embodying  the  expositions 
of  Nice,  Trent  and  Vatican  councils,  and  the  Trinitarian  Creed  of  St. 
Athanasius    are   not   in   popular   use. 


CREEDS  AND  DEEDS  89 

looked  at  me  wistfully.  He  said:  ** Christmas  is 
not  merry  for  me  any  more.''  Why  not?  I  knew, 
lie  had  lost  his  faith.  How?  By  not  living  up  to  it. 
God,  heaven,  hell  were  no  longer  realities  to  him. 
Yet  he  feared  that  perhaps  these  things  might  be. 
He  feared  but  was  not  sure.  For  want  of  faith  and 
the  certainty  it  gives,  he  lacked  the  motive  and 
strength  to  make  the  moral  effort  necessary  to  live 
aright.  Was  he  happy?  Christmas  left  him  dispir- 
ited, gloomy,  afraid.  On  his  desk  was  a  skull  yith 
an  olive  wreath  and  the  paralyzing  **Ctd  Botw** — 
What's  the  use ! 

Broad  Views.  Faith  enriches  a  man.  It  gives 
him  two  worlds  instead  of  one.  Or  rather  it  gives 
him  one  larger  world,  partly  seen  and  partly  unseen: 
and  it  makes  the  unseen  as  real  as  our  senses  make 
the  seen.  The  views  of  the  believer  are  the  truly 
broad  views.  The  horizon  of  material  science  is  not 
the  impassable  bounds  of  all  truth.  Faith  penetrates 
that  horizon  and  stretches  its  gaze  out  over  the  in- 
finite. Its  measure  is  the  eternal.  It  looks  at  things 
from  the  point  of  view  of  God.  To  the  man  who 
has  faith,  no  low  or  sordid  action  seems  worth  while. 
By  faith  he  lives  and  walks  with  God.  He  is  merci- 
ful and  loving,  though  no  human  heart  return  his 
love.  He  is  forgiving,  and  loves  his  enemies' more 
than  they  love  themselves.  He  is  honest  and  true, 
counting  integrity  and  character  more  than  riches  or 
fame.  He  uses  his  talents  as  serviceable  gifts  of 
God,  feeling  that  nothing  less  is  his  duty  than  to  be 
occupied  with  the  highest  work  of  which  he  is  ca- 
pable and  to  die  with  the  conviction  that  he  has  done 
his  best.  He  rises  superior  to  misfortune  and  to 
death,  knowing  that  the  right  will  triumph,  though 
the  righteous  be  crucified  or  go  down  to  a  forgotten 
grave.  He  Avorks  for  the  infinite ;  his  judge  is  God ; 
and  the  balance  is  the  justice  of  eternity.     *'This  is 


90  THE  CHUECH  AS  A  TEACHER 

the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  our  faith.  "^ 

Extremes.  An  extreme  view  often  heard,  demands 
deeds  and  not  creeds;  speaks  in  praise  of  religion 
without  formula ;  and  considers  dogmas  as  something 
vulgar  and  unenlightened:  as  though  good  works 
and  heavenly  virtues  could  spring  from  any  soil  but 
good  principles  and  supernatural  motives ;  as  though 
enlightenment  consisted  in  not  having  any  religious 
principles,  or  at  any  rate  in  not  knowing  just  what 
they  are,  and  in  acting^  as  if  they  were  something  to 
be  ashamed  of,  and  the  less  said  about  them  the  bet- 
ter. 

This  extreme  is  explicable  as  the  liberal  reaction 
against  the  opposite  extreme  once  much  urged  by 
certain  sectaries,  which,  founded  on  a  wrong  concep- 
tion of  faith,  scouted  good  works  altogether  and  in- 
sisted that  men  are  saved  by  faith  alone. 

Faith  and  Works.  As  usual  truth  lies  between  the 
extremes.  It  embraces  both  faith  and  good  works, 
as  the  tree  combines  in  itself  roots  and  fruits.  Re- 
ligion is  union  with  God  by  faith  and  hope  and  char- 
ity. It  is  not  an  act  of  believing  alone.  There  is  no 
saving  faith  without  its  fruit  of  good  works.  Reli- 
gion is  life  lived  daily  in  the  light  of  the  divine  truths 
which  God  has  spoken  to  us  by  His  Son.  It  is  the 
spirit'  of  eternity  breathing  through  every  humble 
duty  and  common  action  of  time.  It  is  faith  mani- 
festing itself  in  loving  service.  Salvation  is 
the  grace  of  God  cooperated  with  by  man.  The  grace 
is  offered  to  all :  all  are  free  to  work  with  it. 

St.  James  tells  us  the  relation  of  faith  and  good 
works.  *'What  does  it  profit,  my  brethren,  though  a 
man  say  he  hath  faith,  and  have  not  works?  Can 
faith  save  him  ?  Faith,  if  it  have  not  works,  is  dead, 
being  alone.  Thou  believest  that  there  is  one  God: 
thou  doest  well :  the  devils  also  believe  and  tremble. 

2  1.  John  5,  4. 


CHRIST'S  MESSENGERS  91 

But  wilt  thou  know,  0  vain  man,  that  faith  without 
works  is  dead !  You  see  then,  how  by  works  a  man  is 
justified,  and  not  by  faith  alone.  For  as  the  body 
without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  works  is 
also  dead."  ^ 

Without  the  life  of  supernatural  virtue  which  he 
calls  charity,  St.  Paul  assures  us,  though  we  have  all 
faith  and  know  all  mysteries  and  all  knowledge,  we 
are  nothing.  Charity,  he  says,  will  continue  in  eter- 
nity, when  faith  gives  way  to  vision,  and  hope  to  en- 
joyment. For  faith  is  a  means,  charity  is  the  end ;  it 
is  union  with  God.  **Now  there  abide  faith,  hope, 
charity,  these  three;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is 
charity. ' '  * 

22.    CHRIST'S  MESSAGE  AND  HIS  MESSEN- 
GERS. 

What  shall  a  man's  creed  be?  There  is  but  one 
deposit  of  faith,  as  there  is  but  one  God.^  Its  dogmas 
are  the  divinely  revealed  truths.  It  is  the  God-given 
light  and  guide  of  life.  It  is  the  message  of  Christ. 
That  we  may  receive  it  intact,  He  sends  His  own  mes- 
sengers to  deliver  it  to  us.  The  title  Apostles  is 
given  to  the  chosen  disciples  of  Christ,  because  their 
office  is  to  bear  His  message  to  the  world.-  The  Gos- 
pel history  reveals  at  once,  who  His  messengers  are 
and  what  is  the  scope  of  their  mission.  Each  Gos- 
pel begins  with  the  call  and  training  of  the  Apostles. 
Each  concludes  with  their  commission  from  Christ  to 
go  and  teach  the  world  all  things  whatsoever  He  had 
taught  them. 

Matthew.  Matthew  witnesses  to  the  call  of  the 
Apostles;  the  promise  to  them  of  knowledge  of  the 
mysteries  of  the  Kingdom;' the  assurance  of  Christ 

•Jas,  2,   14-26.  i  Eph.  4,   5.  ,  ,      ^ 

*I.  Cor.  13,  1-13.  'Greek,  Apo-stello — send  forth. 


92  THE  CHURCH  AS  A  TEACHER 

that  the  gates  of  hell  shall  never  prevail  against  the 
Church ;  ^  and  the  great  commission  of  Christ  to  the 
Apostles,  at  the  end:  *'A11  power  is  given  to  me  in 
Heaven  and  in  earth.  Going  therefore,  teach  ye  all 
nations;  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father 
and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  them 
to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded 
you.  And  behold  I  am  with  you  all  days,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world."* 

Here  then  is  promise  of  a  teaching  Church  founded 
on  the  Apostles  as  ambassadors  of  Christ.  Its  mes- 
sage is  all  that  Christ  has  taught  to  His  messengers. 
His  continued  presence  is  to  preserve  it  from  error 
and  perpetuate  it  to  the  end  of  time. 

Mark.  Mark,  besides  the  call  of  the  Apostles  to 
know  and  preach  the  mysteries  of  the  Kingdom,  re- 
cords the  encouragement  of  Christ  to  the  twelve  that 
it  is  not  they  alone  who  will  speak,  but  the  Holy 
Ghost  through  them;  and  closes  with  Christ's  com- 
mission to  these  men:  **Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  J:he  Gospel  to  every  creature.  He  that 
believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved ;  but  he  that 
believeth  not  shall  be  condemned. ' '  ^ 

Here  again  we  have  a  teaching  Church  sent  to  ev- 
ery creature;  the  Holy  Ghost  speaking  through  its 
authorized  leaders ;  the  salvation  of  men  depending 
on  whether  they  hear  its  voice  or  refuse  the  message 
which  it  brings. 

Luke.  Luke  mentions  the  call  of  the  Apostles  and 
several  words  of  Christ  shedding  light  on  the  relation 
between  the  Apostles  te'aching  in  the  Church,  and  the 
divine  Master:  "He  that  heareth  you,  heareth 
Me."  *  He  records  the  prayer  of  Christ  that  Peter's 
faith  shall  not  fail,  since  he  is  to  confirm  the  breth- 
ren ;  ^  and  the  commission :     *' Ye  are  the  witnesses  of 

«Mt.  16,  18.  «Luke   10.    16. 

*Mt.  28,  18-20.  'Luke  22,  31-32. 

»Mk.    16,    15. 


CHRIST'S  MESSENGERS  93 

these  things  and  behold  I  send  forth  the  promise  of 
my  Father  upon  you ;  but  tarry  ye  in  the  city  till  ye 
be  clothed  Avith  power  from  on  high."  ^ 

In  his  Acts,  Luke  describes  this  power  from  on 
high  with  which  the  Apostles  w^ere  clothed  in  the 
coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  Pentecost;^  and  its  re- 
sult in  the  activities  of  the  infant  Church,  culmina- 
ting in  the  Council  of  Jerusalem  sending  out  its  de- 
cree with  the  formula:  **It  hath  seemed  good  to 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  to  us."  ^'^ 

John.  Like  the  others,  John  mentions  the  call  of 
the  Apostles  and  many  details  of  their  commission. 
His  great  testimony  is  to  the  promise  of  the  Spirit 
of  Truth  to  abide  forever  with  the  teachers  of  the 
Church.  **I  go  to  the  Father,"  says  Christ,  *'and  I 
wijl  ask  the  Father  and  He  shall  give  you  another 
Paraclete,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  forever,  the 
Spirit  of  Truth.  These  things  have  I  spoken  to  you, 
abiding  with  you ;  but  the  Paraclete,  the  Holy  Ghost, 
whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  wull  teach 
you  all  things  and  bring  all  things  to  your  mind, 
whatsoever  I  shall  have  said  to  you."^^  John  con- 
cludes his  Gospel  with  Christ's  commissions  to  the 
Apostles:  ''As  the  Father  hath  sent  Me,  even  so  I 
send  you,"  and  ''Feed  my  lambs,  feed  my  sheep."  " 

Paul.  Paul  adds  his  testimony  that  Christ 
founded  His  Church  to  be*  a  living  teacher  of  His 
truth;  He  himself  dwelling  w^ith  it  and  speaking 
to  the  world  through  the  mouth  of  the  Apostles  and 
their  successors.  This  is  the  "Church  of  the  living 
God,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  truth.  "^^ 

Conclusion.  If  Christ's  words  mean  anything, 
these  records  bear  witness  that  the  divine  Master 
left  His  Church  to  teach  men  His  truth  forever ;  and 
that  by  the  protecting  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 

•Luke  24,  45-49.         "Act.  15,  28.  "John  20,   21;   21,    15-17. 

•Act.  2.  "John   14,   12-26.        "I.  Tim.  3,  15. 


94  THE  CHURCH  AS  A  TEACHER 

He  endowed  the  Church  with  infallibility  in  the  dis- 
charge of  its  office. 

23.    THE   CHURCH   OUR  INFALLIBLE   GUIDE. 

The  history  of  Christianity  is  the  history  of  the 
ecclesia  docens  and  the  ecclesia  discens,-^th.e 
Church  teaching  and  the  Church  taught:  the  Apos- 
tles living  still  in  their  successors,  and  the  masses  of 
men  who  come  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  through 
their  word.^ 

The  Church  has  ever  been  conscious  that  she  was 
commissioned  by  Christ  to  be  the  custodian  and 
herald  of  His  truth.  This  consciousness  is  seen  in 
the  apostolic  activity  of  the  first  Pentecost;  in  the 
selection  of  Matthias  to  fill  the  place  of  Judas  jfis 
a  ** witness'^  of  Christ's  life;  in  the  council  of  the 
Apostles  at  Jerusalem.  It  is  the  explanation  of 
the  General  Councils  of  the  Church,  in  which  the 
Bishops  of  the  world  have  assembled  together  as  a 
supreme  court  of  the  Church  to  settle  disputed 
points  of  doctrine: — to  condemn  as  heretical,  false 
principles  which  threatened  to  mislead  people  from 
the  one  faith  handed  down  from  the  beginning;  or 
again  to  restate  the  eternal  truths  in  language  more 
intelligible  to  a  later  age;  or  to  apply  the  ancient 
principles  to  the  moral  problems  of  the  times.  The 
same  consciousness  is  displayed  in  the  zeal  of  the 
Church  in  sending  missionaries  to  the  nations;  in 
founding  great  universities  where  her  doctors  may 
study  philosophy,  history  and  the  natural  sciences, 
in  order  the  better  to  appreciate  and  expound  the 
revealed  truth;  and  in  establishing  Christian  schools 
where  the  children  of  rich  and  poor  may  be  prop- 
erly trained  for  life  in  the  science  of  faith  and  the 
art  of  virtue. 

»John  17.  20. 


THE  CHURCH  INFALLIBLE  95 

Infallibility.  Like  the  first  Apostles  at  Jerusa- 
lem, their  successors,  the  Bishops  of  the  Church, 
have  been  persuaded  that  they  spoke  not  alone,  but 
that  the  Spirit  of  Truth  spoke  through  them:  that 
they  were  the  official  messengers  of  Christian  reve- 
lation, bearing  in  their  hands  the  commission  and 
credentials  of  Jesus  Christ:  and  that  their  message 
to  the  world  in  the  domain  of  faith  and  morals  is, 
by  the  will  and  power  of  God,  the  truth  and  noth- 
ing but  the  truth.  This  is  what  is  meant  by  the  in- 
fallibility of  the  Church. 

Her  mission  requires  that  the  Church  be  an  in- 
fallible teacher.  In  sending  His  Apostles  to  the 
world,  Christ  said:  **Go  and  teach.  He  that  be- 
lieves and  is  baptized  will  be  saved:  he  that  be- 
lieves not,  will  be  condemned.^'-  He  commanded 
us  to  **hear  the  Church,'*  as  we  would  hear  Him- 
self.^ He  spoke  of  no  other  teacher.  Now  if  we 
are  to  be  condemned  unless  we  hear  and  believe  the 
Church  left  by  Christ,  we  may  rightly  expect,  and 
it  is  in  the  very  nature  of  things  necessary,  that 
Christ  leave  us  a  Church  which  we  can  believe — a 
Church  which  we  can  trust  as  an  unerring  witness 
and  follow  as  a  sure  guide,  a  teacher  that  we  know 
is  preserved  by  God  from  giving  out  as  His  truth 
that  which  is  not  the  truth.  In  a  word  we  have  a 
right  to  expect  a  Church  that  is  infallible. 

Without  Infallibility.  If  the  Church  were  not 
infallible  in  teaching  faith  and  morals,  her  official 
decisions  might  be  true  and  they  might  be  false. 
Their  value  would  depend  upon  the  accidents  of 
office;  the  genius,  accomplishments  or  virtue  of  the 
men  who  chanced  to  be  in  power  at  the  time.  Our 
faith  would  rest  not  on  the  authority  of  God,  but 
of  men.  It  would  be  not  a  divine  but  a  human 
faith. 

»Mk.  16,  16.  'Mt.  18,  17;  Luke  10,  16. 


96  THE  CHUECH  AS  A  TEACHER 

If  the  Church  were  not  infallible,  we  could  never 
be  sure  regarding  any  particular  point  of  her  teach- 
ings, whether  it  w^re  correct  or  not.  There  would 
always  be  the  reflection,  if  the  Church  can  be  mis- 
taken, perhaps  in  this  case  she  is  mistaken.  We 
would  receive  her  decisions  in  controverted  matters, 
not  with  the  unquestioning  assent  of  divine  faith, 
but  with  hesitation  and  a  proviso;  not  as  the  cer- 
tain truth,  but  as  a  probable  opinion.  There  would 
always  be  present  the  element  of  doubt.  If  we  re- 
ally believe  a  thing  we  do  not  at  all  doubt  it. 
Doubt  destroys  faith. 

If  the  Church  left  by  Christ  to  teach  us  were  not 
infallible,  we  would  be  called  upon  by  the  God-man 
to  submit  our  intellects  and  give  a  real  assent  to 
something  lacking  sufficient  authority  to  motive 
such  assent.  Real  assent  under  such  conditions,  is 
an  impossibility.  Or  we  should  have  to  be,  in  the 
last  analysis,  ourselves  the  critics  and  judges  of  the 
correctness  of  the  Church's  decisions.  This  would 
leave  Christ's  constituted  teacher,  no  teacher  at 
all. 

Secured.  Christ's  Church  must  be  infallible. 
That  He  secured  to  it  the  infallibility  its  office  re- 
quires, is  the  repeated  testimony  of  the  Gospel  his- 
tories. In  every  line  of  His  divine  plan  of  the 
Church,  which  those  histories  reveal,  can  be  traced 
Christ's  promise  of  the  means  by  which  His  Church 
will  be  preserved  from  error.  If  the  gates  of  hell 
will  not  prevail  against  the  Church* — leading  her 
to  teach  the  falsehoods  of  Satan  in  place  of  the 
truths  of  Christ — it  is  because  the  Master  Himself 
will  be  with  the  Apostles  in  their  teachings,  all  days 
to  the  end  of  the  world.^  It  is  because  He  will  send 
the  Spirit  of  Truth  to  teach  His  human  representa- 
tives and  to  remain  with  the  Church  forever.^ 

*Mt.  16,  18.  »Mt.  28,  20.  "John  14,   16-26. 


INFALLIBILITY  OF  THE  POPE  97 

24.    THE  INFALLIBILITY  OF  THE  POPE. 

As  Christ's  teacher,  the  Church  is  unerring  within 
its  proper  sphere.  *'The  Church/'  says  Wilmers, 
''exercises  its  infallible  doctrinal  authority  in  di- 
vers ways:  through  its  general  councils;  through 
the  unanimous  voice  of  the  Bishope  dispersed 
through  the  universe  but  united  with  the 
Pope;  through  its  ordinary  and  uniform  preaching; 
through   the   Pope   alone   teaching   ex-cathedra." 

Granting  the  infallibility  of  the  Church,  it  is 
natural  to  find  the  Church  exercising  that  infalli- 
bility through  the  Pope,  when  as  head  and  chief 
pastor  of  the  whole  Church,  he  pronounces  decisions 
in  matters  of  faith  and  morals  binding  the  univer- 
sal Church. 

From  the  earliest  times,  men  turned  to  Rome  as 
to  the  authoritative  court  of  appeal  and  the  teacher 
of  Christian  truth.  When  local  synods  disagreed 
and  individual  bishops  judged  each  other  to  be 
heretics,  from  the  chief  pastor  of  the  whole  Church, 
men  could  learn  what  was  the  faith  of  the  Church. 
Only  by  standing  on  the  Rock  of  Peter,  could  men 
be  certain  that  they  were  in  the  Church  of  Christ 
and  that  their  disputes  were  settled  by  competent 
authority. 

St.  Irenffius  (c.  A.  D.  125-202)  lays  it  down  as 
the  principle  of  his  day,  that  the  short  and  sure 
method  of  deciding  what  is,  and  what  is  not  the 
Christian  truth,  is  to  look  to  what  is  taught  by 
Rome.  While  studying  at  Antioch,  St.  Jerome 
found  the  churchmen  there  engaged  in  a  three-sided 
quarrel,  and  wrote  to  Pope  Damascus  for  direction, 
saying  that  he  knew  not  Vitalis  nor  Meletius  nor 
Paulinus,  but  that  he  did  know  that  the  Church 
was  built  upon  the  Rock,  and  that  he  is  united  with 
Peter  when  he  is  united  with  Damascus  who  fills  his 


98  THE  CHUKCH  AS  A  TEACHER 

chair.  St.  Augustine,  the  Bishop  of  Hippo  (b.  A. 
D.  354),  when  the  Apostolic  See  approved  the  de- 
cisions of  two  councils  condemning  Pelagianism, 
gave  origin  to  the  immortal  phrase,  ''Roma  locuta 
est,  causa  finita  est.''  Rome  has  spoken,  the  case  is 
settled.  The  Councils  of  the  Church  have  always 
been  presided  over  by  the  Popes  in  person  or 
through  legates;  and  their  decisions  are  not  re- 
ceived by  the  Christian  world  until  approved  by 
the  Holy  See. 

Supreme  Court.  In  the  United  States,  doubts  or 
controversies  about  the  law  are  brought  finally  to 
the  Supreme  Court.  When  its  Chief  Justice  has 
handed  down  the  decision  of  the  court,  the  case  is 
settled.  There  is  no  appeal  from  the  Supreme  Court, 
except  an  appeal  to  rebellion  and  arms,  which  would 
cut  off  the  appellants  from  citizenship  in  the  na- 
tion. This  highest  court  of  the  land  is,  within  its 
proper  sphere,  as  nearly  infallible  as  its  human 
framers  could  make  it.  Its  decisions  are  accepted  as 
the  truth. 

Though  in  altogether  different  orders  there  is  an 
analogy  between  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  and  the  magisterium  of  the  Church,  which  is 
useful  as  an  illustration.  In  the  Church,  questions 
and  controversies  about  faith  and  morals  are  finally 
decided  by  its  supreme  court.  When  its  chief  jus- 
tice hands  down  the  decision,  the  case  is  settled. 
There  is  no  appeal  except  to  private  opinion  and 
rebellion  against  the  teaching  authority  left  by 
Christ.  To  make  such  an  appeal,  is  to  cut  one's 
self  off  from  citizenship  in  the  Kingdom  of  Christ. 
This  court  is  as  infallible  as  its  divine  founder 
willed.  Its  decisions  are  the  truth.  If  the  members 
of  the  Church  are  united  as  one  man  in  their  faith, 
and  have  kept  that  faith  intact  from  the  beginning, 


INFALLIBILITY  DEFINED  99 

it  is  because  they  listen  to  the  voice  of  Christ  speak- 
ing through  the  Church. 

Reasonable  Act.  My  own  private  judgment  is 
founded  on  a  limited  experience  and  perhaps  a 
more  limited  ability.  I  cannot  substantiate  for  it 
any  claim  to  preservation  from  error.  I  have  re- 
ceived for  it  no  special  promise  of  divine  assistance. 
I  submit  that  private  judgment  to  the  official  judg- 
ment of  the  Bishops  of  the  Church.  Their  authority 
is  not  their  own  native  genius,  which  singled  them 
out  as  fit  for  the  high  position  they  occupy.  It  is 
immeasurably  more.  It  is  the  authority  to  speak  as 
the  official  representatives  of  Christ  and  with  the 
protection  promised  by  Him  to  their  office.  In  sub- 
mitting my  individual  judgment  to  such  a  tribunal, 
I  no  more  demean  my  mind  or  act  against  my  con- 
science than  does  the  sailor  w^ho,  amid  the  dangers 
of  the  sea,  follows  the  safe  guidance  of  his  com- 
pass. To  accept  the  teachings  of  the  Church  as  the 
correct  statement  of  Christ's  doctrine,  is  a  most  rea- 
sonable act. 

25.    DEFINITION  OF  INFALLIBILITY. 

Infallibility  is  neither  revelation  nor  omniscience. 
The  Church  repeats  the  mysteries  that  have  been 
taught  from  the  beginning;  and  she  does  not  claim 
to  know  all  that  can  be  known  about  them.  No 
new  revelation  is  made  to  her.  She  can  preach  no 
different  gospel  from  that  preached  by  Christ. 
The  divine  assistance  of  infallibility  is  given  in  or- 
der to  teach  the  revelation  once  for  all  committed 
to  the  Apostles;  and  to  safeguard  from  error  the 
eternal  truths  in  their  development  and  application 
amid  changing  times  and  conditions. 

Doctrinal    Development.    As    we   discuss    truths 


100    THE  CHURCH  AS  A  TEACHER 

we  realize  more  fully  their  content.  The  thinking 
mind  penetrates  the  surface  of  a  doctrine;  observes 
its  relation  to  other  things ;  discovers  its  place  in  the 
world.  The  stress  of  new  social  problems  brings 
out  the  hidden  depths  of  moral  principles.  This 
progress  is  the  progress  of  the  believer  in  the  faith, 
rather  than  of  the  faith  in  the  believer.  '^The  de- 
velopment of  revealed  dogmas  is  not  a  process  of 
accretion  from  without,  but  of  elucidation  of  that 
which  was  always  within." 

In  the  restatement  of  truths  and  the  drawing  of 
conclusions  from  them,  nothing  is  easier  than  to 
slip  into  some  subtle  but  far-reaching  error.  From 
the  clashing  of  minds  stirred  to  combat  by  such 
dangerous  novelty,  truth  is  likely  to  emerge  more 
precisely  defined  more  Nearly  known.  St.  Augus- 
tine remarks  that  heresy  thus  indirectly  develops 
our  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Cardinal  Newman 
(shows  that  in  the  living  truth,  as  well  as  in  the  liv- 
ing cell,  the  organism  is  what  it  will  become. 

''When  false  affirmations  and  developments  are  a 
power  with  men,  influence  can  be  gained  only  by 
true  explanations  and  developments.  Affirmations 
have  to  be  met  by  denials;  and  denials  counter- 
acted by  affirmations.  Not  to  be  driven  backward, 
the  Church  has  to  advance.  The  custodian  of  rev- 
elation necessarily  becomes  its  interpreter.  To  keep 
the  deposit,  the  Church  is  ever  obliged  to  expound 
the  deposit.  The  gift  of  infallibility  safeguards  the 
truth  from  the  dangerous  forces  of  its  environment, 
and  enables  it  to  realize  itself  more  and  more  in  the 
various  intellectual  forms  and  language  of  the  cen- 
turies. ^  ^  ^ 

Defined  Dogma.  Thus  the  formal  definitions  of 
the  Church  are  usually  made  to  meet  popular  errors 
of  the  time ;  or  to  settle  exactly  some  matter  whose 

» McNabb,  "Infallibility." 


INFALLIBILITY  DEFINED  101 

terms  and  limits  discussion  has  brought  into  ques- 
tion. The  Vatican  Council  in  1870,  reaffirmed  th(! 
personality  of  God  in  order  to  oppose  and  correct 
the  pantheism  and  agnosticism  of  the  day.  The 
Council  of  Nice  in  325,  taught  the  divinity  of  Christ, 
not  as  a  new  dogma,  but  as  one  needing  to  be  clearly 
and  solemnly  emphasized  in  the  face  of  the  current 
Arianism.  The  Council  of  Trent  restated  practi- 
cally the  whole  body  of  Christian  faith  and  morals, 
that  in  the  religious  agitation  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, men  might  not  be  deceived  about  what  the 
Church  really  taught. 

How  Church  Defines.  In  defining  her  dogmas, 
the  Church  uses  every  human  means  of  reaching  the 
truth.  Thus  the  Vatican  Council  states:  "The 
Holy  Spirit  was  not  promised  to  the  successors  of 
Peter,  that  by  Ilis  revelation  they  might  make 
known  new  doctrine ;  but  that  by  His  assistance  they 
might  inviolably  keep  and  faithfully  expound  the 
revelation  or  deposit  of  faith  delivered  through  the 
Apostles.  And  the  Roman  Pontiffs,  according  to 
the  exigencies  of  times  and  circumstances,  some- 
times assembling  Ecumenical  Councils,  or  asking  for 
the  mind  of  the  Church  scattered  throughout  the 
world,  sometimes  by  particular  synods,  sometimes 
using  other  helps  which  divine  Providence  supplied, 
defined  as  to  be  held,  those  things  which,  with  the 
help  of  God,  they  had  recognized  as  conformable 
with  the  sacred  Scriptures  and  apostolic  traditions.'^ 

Thus  after  communicating  with  all  the  Bishops 
throughout  the  world,  Pius  IX,  in  1854,  solemnly  de- 
fined the  Immaculate  Conception, — in  that  title  sum- 
ming up  all  the  glories  of  the  Mother  of  Christ,  and 
by  his  decision,  settling  points  long  discussed  by 
theologians.  Sixteen  years  later,  the  Bishops  of  the 
whole  world,  assembled  in  Rome  at  the  Vatican 
Council,  under  the  same  Pope  Pius  IX,  decreed  the 


102    THE  CHUECH  AS  A  TEACHER 

infallibility  of  the  Pope:  again  be  it  said,  not  as  a 
new  doctrine, — for  they  had  witnessed  the  exercise 
of  that  prerogative  in  the  decision  of  1854  and  con- 
tinually in  the  history  of  the  Church, — but  as  a 
truth  to  be  most  publicly  and  explicitly  proclaimed 
to  an  age  of  revolution  and  repudiation  of  all  divine 
authority  and  revealed  truth. 

Definition.  The  words  of  the  Vatican  Council  de- 
fining the  infallibility  of  the  Pope,  are  as  follows: 
"We  teach  and  define  that  it  is  a  dogma  divinely  re- 
vealed:— that -the  Roman  Pontiff,  when  he  speaks 
Ex  Cathedra,  that  is,  when  in  discharge  of  the  of- 
fice of  Pastor  and  Teacher  of  all  Christians,  by 
virtue  of  his  supreme  apostolic  authority,  he  defines 
a  doctrine  regarding  faith  and  morals  to  be  held  by 
the  Universal  Church,  is,  by  the  divine  assistance 
promised  to  him  in  Blessed  Peter,  possessed  of  that 
infallibility  with  which  the  divine  Redeemer  willed 
that  His  Church  should  be  endowed  in  defining  doc- 
trine regarding  faith  and  morals/^ 

Misunderstanding.  The  objections  made  by  non- 
Catholics  against  the  doctrine  of  infallibility,  arise 
from  misunderstandings  regarding  its  nature  and 
limits.  To  deliver  God's  message  as  it  is  revealed 
to  us,  is  the  mission  of  the  Church.  The  theological 
writing  of  Popes,  as  well  as  their  public  sermons  and 
private  conversations,  bear  somewhat  the  same  re- 
lation to  infallible  decisions  as  do  the  legal  treatises 
and  popular  speeches  of  a  chief  justice  to  the  de- 
crees of  his  court.  Still  less  then  does  the  divine 
assistance  in  teaching  faith  and  morals,  have  to  do 
with  geology,  astronomy,  or  other  natural  sciences. 
Mistakes  of  churchmen  however  exalted,  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  these  extraneous  matters,  would  in  no 
way  detract  from  the  teachings  of  the  Church  within 
her  proper  sphere. 

Impeccability.     A  common  misunderstanding  con- 


INFALLIBILITY  DEFINED  103 

founds  infallibility  with  impeccability,  and  supposes 
that  Avhen  we  say  the  Pope  is  infallible,  we  mean 
the  I'ope  cannot  sin.  As  the  decisions  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States  neither  assume 
personal  perfection  in  its  justices  nor  lose  their 
value  because  of  the  blemishes  of  private  lives,  so 
the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Church 
are  the  acts  of  an  official  authority,  exercised  within 
limited  sphere  and  form,  and  receiving  their  value, 
not  from  the  personal  worth  of  the  Pope,  but  from 
the  authority  inherent  in  the  office  he  fills. 

The  prerogative  of  infallibility  exists  within  the 
Church  for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  and  as  the  con- 
dition of  an  effective  teaching  authority.  Impecca- 
bility, did  such  a  thing  exist,  would  be  a  personal 
rather  than  a  public  matter.  The  Church  does  not 
depend  upon  the  holiness  of  any  individual  man  but 
of  Christ.  Let  it  suffice  to  say  that  impeccability  is 
not  infallibility;  nor  is  it  claimed  for  the  teachers 
of  the  Church. 

It  is  of  course  eminently  to  be  desired  that  the 
officers  of  the  Church  be  men  whose  private  lives 
are  above  reproach.  And  indeed  generally  speak- 
ing the  Popes  have  been  men  at  once  so  brilliant  in 
intellect,  so  broad  in  charity,  so  exalted  in  virtue, 
that  their  generation  felt  they  were  the  best  fitted 
to  wield  for  the  benefit  of  mankind  the  influence  of 
this  sublimest  office.  Of  the  258  Bishops  of  Rome 
since  St.  Peter,  many  are  venerated  as  saints  and 
martyrs  for  Christ ;  most  are  honored  as  benefactors 
of  the  race ;  only  a  few  have  failed,  in  the  judgment 
of  history,  to  prove  worthy  of  their  position. 

Unworthy  Popes.  When  we  recall  that  of  the 
twelve  Apostles  chosen  by  Jesus,  one  proved  a 
traitor,  we  shall  not  wonder  if  out  of  fifty  priests 
or  even  popes,  one  has  fallen  short  of  the  ideal  char- 
acter associated  with  his  office.     To  be  scandalized, 


104    THE  CHUKCH  AS  A  TEACHER 

is  to  attach  unwisely  to  persons,  an  importance 
which  is  not  theirs.  St.  Paul  humbly  dreaded  his 
own  weakness,  lest,  as  he  said,  while  he  preached  to 
others,  he  himself  should  become  a  castaway.^ 

While  the  Church  no  doubt  suffers  at  the  hands 
of  every  unworthy  priest,  and  indeed  of  every  un- 
worthy Christian,  still  the  Church  is  more  than  any 
member,  no  matter  what  his  position.  It  remains 
while  he  passes  away.  The  work  of  Christ  is  not 
essentially  affected  by  any  particular  life,  as  no 
particular  life  is  essential  to  it.  Finally  it  is  worthy 
of  deepest  though t_  that  no  utterance  of  any  Pope, 
in  the  sphere  where  infallibility  belongs,  has  ever 
embarrassed  the  Church  by  proving  later  to  be  in- 
correct. 

26.    THE  ROMAN  COURT. 

The  Pope  who  is  the  chief  pastor  of  the  Church 
in  matters  of  ecclesiastical  government  and  exterior 
discipline,^  as  well  as  in  the  sphere  of  faith  and 
morals,  is  assisted  in  his  routine  work,  by  the  offi- 
cials of  the  Roman  Curia  or  Court.  The  curia 
might  be  called  the  cabinet  and  departments  of  the 
Church's  government.  It  consists  of  several  per- 
manent committees  called  ''congregations,"  which 
assist  in  the  administration  of  ecclesiastical  affairs. 
Thus  the  Congregation  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith,  popularly  called  ''Propaganda,"  superin- 
tends the  work  of  the  Church  in  missionary  coun- 
tries. The  Congregation  of  Bishops  and  Regulars 
is  concerned  with  preserving  equitable  relations  and 
adjusting  differences  between  bishops  and  their 
clergy  or  religious  orders.  The  Congregation  of  the 
Holy  Office  is  to  watch  over  purity  of  faith  and  ex- 

2  I.  Cor.  9,  27.  Members  of  some  sects  insist  that  they  are  sanctified 
and  cannot  sin. 

^  Of.   Cath..^Encycl.     Discipline  exterior  and  dogmatic  and  moral. 


THE  ROMAN  COURT  105 

pose  and  combat  false  teachings.  The  work  of  the 
Congregations  of  Rites,  Studies,  etc.,  is  suggested 
by  their  names. 

The  Index.  The  committee  known  as  the  Con- 
gregation of  the  Index,  has  for  its  office  to  examine 
books  submitted  to  its  judgment  by  Bishops  or 
others,  and  to  proscribe  those  which  it  finds  opposed 
to  faith  or  morals,  putting  them  on  the  list  or  index 
of  books  condemned  either  absolutely  or  till  cor- 
rected or  expurgated.  The  Index  has  its  countw- 
part  in  the  consulting  committee  of  every  good  li- 
brary. Its  justification  is  the  responsibility  of  all 
parents  and  guardians  to  protect  those  under  their 
care  from  moral  and  mental  poison;  or  at  least  to 
place  the  warning  label  on  the  dangerous  articles. 
The  evil  of  bad  books  has  been  combated  in  the 
Church  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles  who  caused 
the  early  Christian  converts  to  burn  their  obscene 
and  superstitious  books.^ 

The  Index  does  not  contain  the  name  of  every 
dangerous  book.  Only  thirteen  books  written  in 
the  English  language  were  placed  on  the  Index  be- 
tween 1850  and  1903.^  Its  general  rules  are  easily 
applied  by  the  reader's  conscience,  to  obviously  im- 
proper works.  These  rules  are  based  on  the  princi- 
ples of  ethics  which  condemn  works  calculated  to 
deprave  character,  to  destroy  faith  and  piety,  to 
disseminate  pernicious  principles  and  practices. 

Besides  these  obscene  and  irreligious  books,  the 
w^orks  of  very  good  Catholic  writers — even  devoted 
members  of  the  hierarchy — have  been  adversely 
criticised  by  the  Index.  This  is  not  the  paradox  it 
at  first  seems.  These  writers  may  have  fallen  into 
some  inaccuracy  or  imprudence,  or  broached  some 
novel  theory  of  which  the  Church  could  not  ap- 
prove.    On  account  of  their  position,  the  writers  in 

2  ^ct.  19    19 

•Hull,  s!  J.,  in  Bombay  Examiner,  Feb.  9,  1907. 


106    THE  CHURCH  AS  A  TEACHER 

question  would  seem  to  speak  as  Catholic  authori- 
ties. If  the  Church  remained  silent,  their  views 
would  be  taken  as  Catholic  teaching.  Their  con- 
demnation has  the  effect  of  serving  notice  that  their 
work  must  be  revised,  if  they  wish  the  Church  to 
endorse  it.  The  theories  of  the  greatest  scientists 
are  amended  by  their  disciples.  Probably  no  High 
School  in  America  reads  Shakespeare  save  in  ex- 
purgated editions.  So  even  a  saintly  Bishop  Fene- 
lon  might  find  his  book  placed  on  the  Index. 

Galileo  Case.  The  Congregations  of  the  Index, 
of  the  Holy  Office,  and  the  other  administrative  com- 
mittees of  the  Church's  government  are  not  infalli- 
ble. They  can  and  have  made  mistakes  of  judg- 
ment— as  in  the  case  of  Galileo.  Of  this  one  error 
of  judgment  the  enemies  of  the  Church  have  never 
ceased  to  make  capital.  The  condemnation  of  Gali- 
leo's teachings  does  not  touch  the  infallibility  of 
the  Church,  being  the  work  of  a  committee  and  out- 
side the  sphere  of  faith  and  morals.  It  may  be  said 
here  that  Galileo  lived  and  died  a  loyal  son  of  the 
Church  and  an  intimate  friend  of  the  highest 
churchmen.  The  stories  of  his  torture  and  impris- 
onment in  dungeons  are  fictions  born  of  malice  to- 
toward  the  Church.  This  exceptional  case  was 
doubtless  unfortunate.  Indeed  the  Church  has  al- 
ways been  the  best  friend  of  science.  She  made  a 
cardinal  of  Nicholas  de  Cusa  and  a  benificed  canon 
of  Copernicus,  who  taught  the  new  astronomy  a  cen- 
tury before  Galileo.  It  may  explain  much  to  say 
that  the  mistaken  opinion  of  the  seventeenth  century 
cardinals,  was  shared  by  the  greatest  scholars  of 
their  time,  including  Bacon,  Pascal,  Montaigne  and 
the  Protestant  Universities. 


THE  CHURCH'S  COUNCILS  107 


27.    THE  CHURCH'S  COUNCILS. 

The  history  of  the  teaching  office  of  the  Church, 
as  indeed  the  whole  history  of  Christianity,  is 
epitomized  in  the  history  of  her  General  Councils. 
By  an  Ecumenical  or  General  Council  is  understood 
a  council  to  which  the  Bishops  of  the  whole  world 
are  lawfully  summoned  for  the  consideration  of  im- 
portant matters.  A  general  council  is  presided  over 
by  the  Pope,  either  personally  or  through  legates; 
and  its  decrees  must  have  his  approval.  The  mat- 
ters brought  before  a  general  council  are  usually 
questions  of  doctrine,  or  they  are  problems  of  dis- 
cipline of  interest  to  the  whole  Church.  General 
councils  have  been  held  on  an  average  of  once  a 
century  since  the  time  of  Christ. 

Besides  the  ecumenical,  there  is  the  national 
council,  as  our  plenary  councils  of  the  United  States 
held  at  Baltimore;  the  provincial  council,  a  council 
of  the  Bishops  of  a  province ;  and  the  diocesan 
synod,  a  meeting  of  the  clergy  of  a  diocese  under 
their  Bishop.  These  minor  councils  discuss  ways 
and  means  of  administration  in  the  light  of  particu- 
lar conditions,  and  legislate  for  practical  local  needs. 
They  exhibit  the  policy  of  home-rule  for  home  af- 
fairs, which  is  the  spirit  of  the  great  Christian  Em- 
pire ;  as  well  as  its  elasticity  and  adaptability  in  its 
human  side  of  discipline  and  administration;  while 
it  remains  one  and  unchangeable  in  its  divine  doc- 
trine and  constitution. 

List  of  General  Councils.  The  following  is  a  list 
of  the  ecumenical  councils  of  the  Church  since  the 
Council  of  the  Apostles  at  Jerusalem : 

1.  First  Council  of  Nice,  A.  D.  325,  under  Pope  Sylvester 
I;  318  Bishops;  Emperor  Constantine  present;  Arian  heresy 
condemned. 

2.  FiBST  Council  of  Constantinople,  A.  D.  381;  confirmed 


108    THE  CHURCH  AS  A  TEACHER 

by  Pope  Damasus  I;   errors  of  Macedonius  condemned;   Em- 
peror Theodosius  present, 

3.  Council  of  Ephesus,  A.  D.  431;  under  Pope  Celestine 
I;  Nestorian  heresy  condemned. 

4.  Council  of  Chalcedon,  A.  D.  451;  under  Pope  Leo 
I;  630  Bishops;  Emperor  Marcian  present;  errors  of  Eutyches 
and  Dioscorus  condemned. 

5.  Second  Council  of  Constantinople,  A.  D.  553;  con- 
firmed by  Pope  Vigilius;  Emperor  Justinian  present;  errors 
of  Theodore  of   Mopsuesta   condemned. 

6.  Third  Council  of  Constantinople,  A.  D.  681;  under 
Popes  Agatho  and  Leo  II;   Monothelite  heresy  condemned. 

7.  Second  Council  of  Nice,  A.  D.  787;  under  Pope  Adrian 
I;    Iconoclast  heresy  condemned. 

8.  Fourth  Council  of  Constantinople,  A.  D.  870;  under 
Pope  Adrian  II;  Photius,  author  of  the  Greek  Schism,  de- 
posed. 

9.  First  Council  of  Lateran,  held  in  Lateran  Basilica, 
Rome,  A.  D.  1123;  under  Pope  Callistus  II;  Investiture  strug- 
gle settled. 

10.  Second  Council  of  Lateran,  A.  D.  1139;  under  Pope 
Innocent  II;    1,000  Bishops;  errors  of  Albigenses  condemned. 

11.  Third  Council  of  Lateran,  A.  D.  1179;  under  Pope 
Alexander  III;   errors  of  Waldenses  condemned. 

12.  Fourth  Council  of  Lateran,  A.  D.  1215;  under  Pope 
Innocent  III;  besides  the  Bishops,  representatives  of  all  the 
Christian   rulers  present;    Crusades    authorized. 

13.  First  Council  of  Lyons,  A.  D.  1245;  under  Pope  In- 
nocent IV. 

14.  Second  Council  of  Lyons,  A.  D.  1274;  under  Pope 
Gregory  X;  Greek  Schismatics  returned  to  the  unity  of  the 
Church. 

15.  Council  of  Vienna,  A.  D.  1312;  under  Pope  Clement 
V;    Knights   Templars    abolished;    Begard   errors    condemned. 

16.  Council  of  Florence,  A.  D.  1439;  under  Pope  Eugene 
IV;  the  Greek  Emperor,  John  Paleologus,  and  the  erstwhile 
schismastic   Greek   and   Russian   Bishops  present. 

17.  Fifth  Lateran  Council,  1512-1517;  under  Popes 
Julius  II  and  Leo  X. 

18.  Council  of  Trent,  A.  D.  1545-1563;  religious  revolu- 
tion and  erroneous  teaching  of  Protestantism  condemned  and 
abuses  reformed. 

19.  Council  of  Vatican,  Rome,  1869 — ;  under  Pope  Pius 
IX;  704  Bishops;  social  revolution  and  errors  of  infidelity 
and  anarchism  condemned;  authority  of  Church  as  Christ's 
teacher  emphasized  and  set  forth  in  dogma  of  Infallibility. 


CHAPTER    VI 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 
28.     THE  BOOK  OF  BOOK 

The  Bible  is  the  great  historical  record  of  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Christian  Religion.  "While  the  New- 
Testament  presents  sketches  of  the  life  and  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Old  Testament  chronicles 
the  expectation  of  the  Messiah  and  the  history  of 
the  family  from  which  He  \Yas  destined  to  spring. 
Old  and  New  Testaments  make  up  one  whole ;  as  the 
Church  of  the  Apostles  is  the  fulfillment  of  the 
covenant  of  the  Prophets.  From  the  days  of  Adam, 
man  has  not  been  without  supernatural  knowledge 
of  his  Creator. 

The  greatest  minds  of  the  civilized  world  have 
paid  tribute  of  highest  admiration  to  the  Bible. 
Most  have  revered  it  as  the  word  of  God.  Even 
unbelievers  confess  that  they  find  nowhere  else  such 
loftiness  of  aspiration.  The  Sacred  Writings  are 
well  called  the  Bible — The  Book.  Only  the  scholar 
can  appreciate  what  the  literature,  the  art  and  the 
laws  of  all  modern  and  civilized  nations  owe  to  the 
Bible. 

It  is  our  purpose  to -treat  briefly  of  the  nature 
and  history  of  the  Bible,  of  its  place  in  the  Christian 
religion  and  its  relation  to  the  Christian  Church. 

A  Literature.  The  Bible  is  not  merely  a  book, 
but  p,  literature  written  by  many  human  hands  dur- 
ing a  period  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years. 

109 


110        THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 

The  Old  Testament  embraces  the  chronicles  of  the 
historians,  the  laws  of  the  legislators,  the  cere- 
monials of  the  priests,  the  proverbs  of  th,e  sages,  the 
sacred  songs  of  the  poets,  the  withering  denuncia- 
tions and  the  inspired  visions  of  the  prophets  of 
Israel.  Compared  with  the  author  of  its  first  books, 
Shakespeare  is  our  contemporary;  Dante  is  but  of 
yesterday;  Cicero  and  St.  Paul  stand  but  half-wai- 
down  the  line  of  writers  at  whose  head  is  the  au- 
thor of  Genesis. 

The  literary  contemporaries  of  Moses  were  the 
sages  of  the  ancient  kingdoms  of  Asia  and  Africa, 
whose  writings  baked  into  bricks  thousands  of  years 
ago,  are  dug  up  in  our  day,  from  the  ruins  of  tem- 
ples whose  foundations  time  had  long  covered  with 
oblivion.  Biblical  personages  and  deeds  that  flip- 
pant skepticism  had  treated  as  myth  and  fable,  are 
finding  corroboration  in  the  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt 
and  of  the  cuneiform  libraries  of  Assyria,  in  whose 
interpretation  scholars  wear  out  their  lives  at  the 
British  Museum  and  the  other  centers  where  these 
eloquent  stones  have  been  gathered. 

Its  antiquity  and  literary  influence  are  not  the 
only  claims  that  the  Old  Testament  has  upon  our 
reverence.  It  is  above  all  a  sacred  book.  Its  pages 
are  especially  meaningful  because  they  are  the  first 
chapters  of  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  history  of 
His  ancestors. 

•  Genesis.  The  first  dozen  chapters  of  Genesis  give 
in  outline,  the  history  of  the  world  up  to  the  call  of 
Abraham — some  two  thousand  years  before  Christ. 
There  is  the  Creation,  Paradise,  the  Fall,  Cain  and 
Abel,  a  millennium  of  silence,  then  the  Deluge  and 
the  Tower  of  Babel,  then  silence  again  till  we  meet 
with  the  patriarchal  form  of  the  founder  of  the 
Jewish  race. 

The  scenes  of  the  first  chapters  of  Genesis  are 


THE  BOOK  OF  BOOKS  111 

stupendous  events,  the  memory  of  which  would 
never  be  lost,  so  deeply  would  their  startling  char- 
acters impress  men's  minds,  but  would  be  handed 
down  from  generation  to  generation.  In  this  part 
of  Genesis  there  are  no  detailed  lives  oi  great  men ; 
no  historical  or  geographical  setting;  few  circum- 
stances. As  the  sea-farer  puts  out  from  his  native 
shore,  the  forms  of  .men,  the  fields,  the  trees,  the 
cities,  one  after  the  other  fade  away  in  the  distance ; 
till  out  of  the  gloom  and  mist,  there  strikes  his 
view  only  the  huge  bulk  of  the  mountains  that  raise 
their  heads  to  the  sky.  So  the  facts  of  the  early 
part  of  Genesis  are  like  mountains  of  history,  ex- 
traordinary phenomena  still  impressing  the  genera- 
tions even  to  the  time  of  Moses,  and  long  after  the 
lesser  deeds  of  men  and  nations  were  lost  in  the 
mist  and  obscurity  of  the  ages. 

Old  Testament.  The  rest  of  the  Old  Testament  is 
the  history  of  the  Jewish  race.  It  is  not  always  a 
beautiful  picture.  On  the  darker  side  there  is  the 
continued  story  of  a  stiff-necked,  carnal-minded 
people,  ever  turning  away  from  the  ideals  with 
which  God  inspired  their  leaders ;  turning  back  from 
the  promised  land  to  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt.  It  is, 
at  times,  a  picture  of  lust  and  avarice,  of  cruelty 
and  idolatry,  of  vengeance  and  brutal  war.  Even 
those  men  who  are  counted  types  of  the  coming 
Messiah — Solomon  by  his  wisdom,  Moses  as  the  law- 
giver, Aaron  in  his  priesthood,  David  by  his  kingly 
rule — were  not  without  their  faults.  The  awful 
truthfulness  of  the  picture  unsparing  as  a  judgment, 
suggests  a  hidden  author  who  was  no  respecter  of 
persons. 

But  like  a  light  shining  through  the  dark  clouds 
of  the  human  history  of  the  people  who  stoned  the 
prophets,  is  the  divine  history  of  their  expectation 
of  the  Messiah.    Like  a  ray  of  hope  shining  through 


112        THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 

the  gloom,  the  light  grows  with  each  prophet  aris- 
ing to  announce  the  coming  of  the  Savior.  The 
whole  of  the  Old  Testament  from  Genesis,  where  the 
goodness  of  God  inspires  fallen  man  with  the  hope 
of  Redemption,  was  the  gradual  dawning  of  the  day, 
the  rising  of  the  Sun  of  Justice,  the  growing  bright- 
ness of  the  advent  of  the  Son  of  God. 

New  Testament. .  The  pages  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment are  occupied  with  the  one  bright  figure  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Its  story  is  the  story  beautiful,  of  di- 
vine love,  of  infinite  mercy,  of  salvation  for  all  na- 
tions, of  the  shepherd  who  lays  down  his  life  for  his 
flock,  of  followers  who  return  the  Master  ^s  love  and 
so  prove  worthy  of  their  ditine  vocation  to  be  the 
continuators  of  His  work.  Shadows  there  are  in- 
deed, even  the  darkest  shadows  in  the  history  of 
man.  They  emphasize  the  light.  The  New  Testa- 
ment is  the  sequel  to  the  Old.  It  is  the  fulfillment 
of  the  hopes  and  visions  of  the  Hebrew  prophets. 
It  is  the  biography  of  Jesus  Christ  as  He  walked 
among  men. 

* '  The  New  Testament  is  sublime ;  but  it  exalts  hu- 
man life  to  its  own  level.  It  is  simple  and  gracious ; 
breaks  no  bruised  reed  nor  quenches  any  flickering 
wick  of  effort  or  desire.  Its  sympathy  is  intimate 
but  strong :  it  announces  tremendous  principles  with 
serenity,  decision,  and  completeness.  A  child  may 
love  it:  the  learned  cannot  exhaust  it:  while  in 
place  of  the  confused  medley  of  all  other  sacred 
writings  known  to  history,  it  presents  the  unity  of 
the  living  personality  of  Jesus.'' 

29.    THE  BOOK  AND  THE  CHURCH. 

An  important  question  is  the  relation  between  the 
Bible  and  the  Church — between  the  living  organism 
of  Christianity  which,  enlivened  by  His  indwelling 


THE  BOOK  AND  THE  CHURCH  113 

Spirit,  continues  forever  as  the  mystic  body  of 
Christ,  and  the  writings  of  its  earliest  teachers.  As 
the  Jewish  religion  existed  before  the  books  of 
the  Old  Testament  Prophets,  so  the  Christian 
Church  is  older  than  any  book  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  was  already  es- 
tablished when  its  Author  sent  the  Holy  Ghost,  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  to  bring  to  the  remembrance 
of  the  Apostles  whatsoever  He  had  said  unto  them 
and  to  guide  them  into  all  the  truth  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  The  Church  existed  before  Saul  of  Tar- 
sus was  converted  on  the  road  to  Damascus  and  bap- 
tized by  the  priest  of  that  city,  as  Paul  the  disciple 
of  Christ.^  The  children  of  the  Church  broke  the 
bread  of  Holy  Communion  before  Matthew  penned 
the  history  of  the  institution  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment ;  or  Luke,  in  the  Acts,  described  their  faith  and 
devotion. 

The  Church  First.  The  founding  of  the  Church 
was  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ.  Later  on  His  dis- 
ciples wrote  the  Epistles  and  Gospels.  The  truths 
committed  to  her  were  taught  by  the  Church  before 
any  one  of  her  teachers  recorded  a  dogma  of  that 
tradition  in  the  pages  of  the  Scriptures. 

It  was  perhaps  A.  D.  52,  about  twenty  years  after 
Pentecost,  that  St.  Paul  wrote  his  first  Epistle  to 
the  Thessalonians ;  which  is  believed  by  many  to 
be  the  earliest  published  portion  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. But  that  very  Epistle  reveals  the  Church  al- 
ready spread  to  far  off  Thessalonica,  and  sending 
forth  as  "a  minister  of  God  and  a  fellow  worker 
in  the  Gospel  of  Christ"-  men  like  Timothy,  who 
had  indeed  read  the  Old  Testament  from  his  youth, 
but  who  must  have  learned  the  Christian  faith,  that 
he  was  now  deemed  fit  to  teach,  from  the  living  voice 
of  the  Church.     So  too  the  Church  had  been  estab- 

II.  Act.  9.  'I.  Thes.  3,  2. 


114        THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 

lished  at  Corinth  before  Paul  wrote  to  the  Chris- 
tians of  that  city.  The  faith  of  the  Church  at  Rome 
was  well  known  before  Paul  wrote  to  the  Romans 
his  intention  of  coming  to  the  capital.^ 

It  will  be  found  true  of  all  the  New  Testament 
writings  that  the  Book  proceeded  from  the  Church. 
The  Church  does  not  owe  its  existence  to  the  Book. 
The  Gospel  according  to  Luke  proposes  to  arrange 
in  order,  the  data  of  the  life  of  Christ  which  the 
physician-evangelist  finds  current  among  the  Chris- 
tians.* St.  Peter  writes  to  the  eastern  Christians 
to  remind  them  of  the  truths  in  which,  he  tells  us, 
they  are  already  established.^  St.  John  writes  to 
those  who  have  already  learned  the  truth  from  the 
preaching  of  the  Church.^  St.  Paul  charges  Timo- 
thy: **The  things  which  thou  hast  heard  of  me 
by  many  witnesses,  the  same  commend  thou  to  faith- 
ful men  w^ho  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also.''^ 
The  New  Testament  writings  thus  ever  pre-suppose 
the  Church.  In  them  are  reduced  to  writing,  truths 
which  the  Church  is  already  engaged  in  teaching. 

The  Writings.  There  is  nothing  about  the  New 
Testament  to  suggest  that  it  was  intended  to  sup- 
plant the  Church  as  the  teacher  of  men.  Its  writ- 
ings consist  of  sketches  and  letters  addressed  to 
Christian  congregations  in  various  towns,  and  even 
to  individual  Christians.  Not  one  of  them  pretends 
to  be  an  exhaustive  presentation  of  the  Christian 
faith  or  j^olity.  The  conclusion  of  the  fourth  Gos- 
pel disavows  any  idea  of  giving  a  complete  record 
of  the  Master's  life  or  teachings.^  The  synoptics  of 
Matthew,  Mark  and  Luke  do  not  ^eem  such  an 
avowal  necessary.  On  the  library  shelf  are  the  ad- 
dresses of  Archbishop  Ireland,  the  essays  of  Bishop 
Spalding,  the  sermons  of  Cardinal  Gibbons,  the  En- 

»Rom.  1,  8.  »II.  Peter  1,  12.  ^11.  Tim.  2,   2. 

*Luke  1.  "I.  John  2,   21.  "John  20,  30. 


THE  BOOK  AND  THE  CHURCH  115 

cyclicals  of  Leo  XIII.  A  survey  of  their  contents 
shows  that  they  leave  many  points  of  Christian 
teaching  quite  untouched;  while  other  points  are 
assumed  to  be  well  known  and  are  merely  alluded 
to.  A  few  subjects  may  be  discussed  in  full.  No 
one  would  claim  that  the  aforesaid  writings  consti- 
tute an  encyclopedia  of  the  Christian  religion;  or 
insist  that  nothing  be  counted  part  of  the  Christian 
faith  which  does  not  happen  to  be  mentioned  by 
one  of  these  four  Bishops. 

In  like  manner  the  collection  of  New  Testament 
w^ritings  does  not  pretend  to  be  a  Christian  encyclo- 
pedia. While  in  the  light  of  the  traditional  faith 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  Chris- 
tians may  find  at  least  allusions  to  practically  every 
point  of  their  religion,  the  stranger  studying  the  doc- 
uments by  themselves  without  that  tradition,  might 
find  it  very  difficult  indeed  to  discover  even  that 
Sunday  and  not  Saturday  is  the  Christian  Sabbath ; 
or  that  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  are  the  One 
-triune  God;  or  that  the  book  he  reads  is  of  divine 
inspiration.  We  find  that  the  majority  of  the 
twelve  Apostles, — Andrew,  Philip,  Bartholomew, 
Thomas,  Matthias,  Simon  and  James  the  Greater, 
contributed  nothing  to  the  New  Testament  and  in- 
deed wrote  nothing  at  all  that  we  know  of.  Jude 
left  a  single  chapter,  and  James  the  Less  one  short 
letter.  The  divine  Master  spoke  much  about  His 
Church.  He  gave  to  it  His  promise  of  perennial 
protection;  and  sent  it  forth  to  continue  His  work, 
w4th  the  commission:  *'Go  and  teach  all  nations, 
baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of 
the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  teaching  them  to  ob- 
serve all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you, 
and  behold  I  am  with  you  all  days  to  the  end  of  the 
world.''®     Christ  gave  no  hint  that  a  book  is  to 

•Mt.  28,   20. 


116         THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 

take  the  place  of  the  Church  which  He  founded  and 
endowed  with  authority  as  the  custodian  of  His  sac- 
raments, the  infallible  teacher  of  His  truth,  the  visi- 
ble Kingdom  of  God  on  earth. 

Relation.  Yet  the  Book  has  its  place  and  an  im- 
portant place.  The  Church  has  ever  cherished  the 
writings  of  her  earliest  teachers  as  the  most  precious 
of  documents.  They  are  historical  works  coming 
down  from  the  days  of  her  institution  and  from 
writers  who  were  contemporaneous  with  the  earthly 
life  of  Jesus  Christ.  As  documents  of  history  fhey 
stand  as  ancient  witnesses  of  the  origin  of  the 
Church.  They  tell  of  her  foundation  by  Christ  and 
of  the  constitution  He  gave  her.  Thus  they  stand 
at  the  head  of  the  unbroken  line  of  historical  testi- 
mony that  for  1900  years,  through  a  thousand  au- 
thors, always  and  everywhere  bears  witness  to 
the  living  Church.  And  then  the  Church  with  the 
infallible  voice  of  the  teacher  left  by  Christ,  tells 
her  children  that  these  documents  are  not  only  au- 
thentic human  history,  but  are  even  of  divine  in- 
spiration and  worthy  to  be  bound  up  as  a  New  and 
Christian  Testament,  with  the  Law  and  the  Proph- 
ets of  the  Hebrew  Bible.  Henceforth  the  Christian 
Church  and  the  Christian  Scriptures  are  insepara- 
ble :  and  the  two  together — the  one  interpreting  the 
other — are  the  Rule  of  Faith. 

30.    THE  RULE  OF  FAITH. 

The  relative  place  of  the  Church  and  the  Bible 
in  the  rule  of  Christian  faith,  is  a  problem  that  as- 
sumes immense  proportions  in  the  religious  contro- 
versy of  the  last  few  centuries.  The  rule  of 
Christian  faith  means  the  standard  by  which  the 
teachings  of  the  Christian  religion  are  determined. 
It  is  the  measure  of  belief.    It  is  the  way  by  which 


THE  RULE  OF  FAITH  117 

Christians  arrive  at  the  right  understanding  of  the 
principles  of  their  religion.  By  its  very  nature 
such  a  norm  is  a  prime  determining  factor  in  any 
religion.  The  practical  importance  of  the  subject  is 
increased  by  the  fact  that  the  sects  that  went  out 
from  the  Church  in  the  sixteenth  century  repudi- 
ated the  ancient  rule  of  faith  of  the  Christian 
Church  and  adopted  a  standard  radically  different. 
Influenced  perhaps  by  the  exigencies  of  the  times, 
the  Protestant  party,  already  splitting  into  many 
sects,  asserted  the  "Sufficiency  of  Scripture"  and 
the  individual's  ''right  of  private  interpretation." 
The  Bible  and  the  Bible  only  becomes  the  Protestant 
rule  of  faith. 

Protestant  Rule.  Charles  A.  Briggs  in  his  Study 
of  Holy  Scripture,  quotes  the  Reformers'  rule  as 
set  forth  in  the  Calvinists'  French  Confession  and 
in  the  Anglican  Thirty-nine  Articles,  respectively. 
"We  know  these  books  to  be  canonical  and  the  Sure 
Rule  of  our  Faith,  not  so  much  by  the  common  ac- 
cord and  consent  of  the  Church,  as  by  the  testimony 
and  inward  illumination  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which 
enables  us  to  distinguish  them  from  other  ecclesi- 
astical books,  upon  which,  however  useful,  we  can- 
not found  any  article  of  faith." 

"The  Holy  Scripture  containeth  all  things  neces- 
sary to  salvation ;  so  that  whatsoever  is  not  read 
therein,  nor  may  be  proved  thereby,  is  not  required 
of  any  man  that  it  should  be  believed  as  an  article 
of  faith  or  thought  requisite  as  necessary  to  salva- 
tion." 

Its  Fallacy.  This  was  a  principle  unknown  to 
Christian  history,  or  to  the  Scriptures  to  which  it 
now  appealed.  It  ignored  the  Church  with  its  su- 
preme court,  and  made  for  individualism  instead 
of  the  old  Christian  unity.  Time  soon  proved  that 
it  was  calculated  to  secure,  not  the  unchangeable 


118         THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 

truth,   but  as   many  opinions   as   there  are  heads. 

A  similar  principle  applied  to  the  interpretation 
of  our  national  constitution  and  laws,  would  mean 
social  anarchy  and  the  breaking  up  of  our  union. 
The  Bible  and  the  living  authority  of  the  Church, 
God  had  joined  together  as  the  indissolubly  united 
teachers  of  Christianity.  What  God  had  joined  to- 
gether man  presumed  to  put  asunder. 

''The  Roman  Catholic  Church,''  comments  Dr. 
Briggs,  "has  ever  emphasized  the  real  presence  of 
^the  Divine  Spirit  and  of  Christ  in  the  organism  of 
the  Church  and  in  all  the  institutions  of  the  Church. 
The  Protestant  churches,  in  their  zeal  against  lim- 
iting the  work  of  Christ  and  His  Spirit  to  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Church,  and  in  their  efforts  to  main- 
tain the  independence  of  Christ  and  His  Spirit  of 
any  and  every  means  of  grace,  have  tended  to  de- 
preciate the  Church  and  its  institutions,  and  so  to 
lose  sight  of  the  real  presence  of  the  living,  reign- 
ing Christ  and  of  the  real  presence  of  His 
Spirit  in  the  Church  and  its  institutions." 

Against  those  who  proclaim  the  Bible  only  as 
their  rule  of  faith,  the  Bible  itself  may  be  invoked 
to  prove  that  it  teaches  no  such  principle.  On  the 
contrary,  the  sacred  book  constantly  bears  witness 
that  Christ  founded  His  Church  as  the  living  teacher 
of  His  faith,  "the  pillar  and  ground. of  truth." 

Search  the  Scriptures.  Those  who  find  themselves 
committed — perhaps  through  family  antecedents — 
to  the  principle  of  the  reformers,  and  think  it  worth 
while  to  attempt  its  defense,  are  wont  to  cite  a 
couple  of  texts  as  settling  the  whole  matter: 
"Search  the  Scriptures;"^  and  St.  Paul's  praise  of 
the  Bereans  who  searched  the  Scripture.^  The  first 
text  they  assume  to  be  a  universal  imperative,  a 
general  command  of  God  indicating  the   one  only 

t  John  n,   39.  »  Act.  17,  11. 


THE  RULE  OF  FAITH  ill) 

way  for  each  man  to  learn  His  law.  A  study  of  the 
passage  shows  Christ  not  laying  dow^u  a  general 
law,  like  a  precept  of  the  Decalogue,  but  addressing 
Himself  to  particular  Jews  at  Jerusalem,  who 
sought  to  kill  Him  because  He  said  God  was  His 
Father.^  Nor  is  it  even  certain  that  Christ  told 
these  Jews  to  search  the  Scriptures.  The  Revised 
Version  admits  that  it  cannot  be  known  whether 
the  original  Greek  ereunate  (Latin  Scrutamini)  is 
the  imperative  or  the  indicative  mood. 

Waiving  this  point,  what  does  the  passage  say? 
** Search  the  Scriptures  (or,  ye  do  search  the  Scrip- 
tures) for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life :  and 
they  are  they  which  testify  to  me.  And  ye  will  not 
come  to  Me  that  ye  might  have  life.'*  Thus  in- 
stead of  a  revelation  of  the  Christian  rule  of  faith, 
we  find  this  text  to  be  a  reproach  to  the  Pharisees, 
who,  although  reading  their  Bible  and  thinking  to 
find  everlasting  life  therein,  nevertheless  would  not 
receive  Him  to  w^hom  those  Scriptures  gave  testi- 
mony, and  through  whom  alone  they  could  have 
that  life.  How  like  those  who  in  our  day  search 
the  Scriptures  and  yet  repudiate  the  Church  of 
Christ  of  wiiich  the  New  Testament  is  so  eloquent ! 

The  Bereans.  At  Berea,  St.  Paul  told  the  Jews 
that  the  Master  whose  Gospel  he  was  preaching,  was 
the  Christ  of  whom  the  Prophets  had  spoken.  He 
confirmed  the  authority  of  his  teaching  by  quoting 
the  Old  Testament  passages  foretelling  the  Messiah. 
Paul  praised  the  Bereans  for  their  generous  eager- 
ness in  looking  up  the  passages  to  which  he  had  ap- 
pealed. This  merited  praise  w^as  a  very  different 
thing  from  a  proclamation  to  the  Jews  that  their 
Scriptures  w^ere  the  one  and  sufficient  rule  of  faith. 
Indeed  the  Jews  would  have  searched  in  vain  for 
Paul's  teaching  about  Baptism  and  other  articles 
of  Christian  doctrine,  in  the  Scriptures  whose  study 

'John,   5,    18. 


120        THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 

this  Apostle  commended  at  Berea.  Thus  the  text 
does  not  sustain  the  principle  in  whose  favor  it  is 
so  often  quoted. 

After  the  example  of  St.  Paul,  when  dealing  with 
those  who  already  believe  in  the  Bible,  the  Chris- 
tian writer  may  urge  his  readers  to  verify  the  texts 
he  quotes,  that  in  the  Bible  they  may  behold  the 
Church  of  Christ  and  from  the  Bible  learn  to  hear 
the  Church  as  the  authoritative  interpreter  of  God's 
word. 

Tradition.  Some  perhaps  lean  toward  this  un- 
warranted rule  of  faith,  because  they  have  been 
told  that  the  Catholic  Church  believes  in  Tradition 
as  well  as  in  the  Bible :  and  to  their  minds,  tradition 
has  been  made  to  suggest  only  folk-lore  and  un- 
worthy fables ;  or  the  word  may  recall  the  reproach 
of  Christ  to  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees:  ''For  leav- 
ing the  commandment  of  God,  you  hold  the  tra- 
dition of  men ;  the  washing  of  pots  and  of  cups  and 
many  other  things  you  do  like  to  these,"  and  ''make 
void  the  commandment  of  God  that  you  may  keep 
your  own  tradition."* 

Thoughtful  and  candid  people  will  not  have  to  be 
told  that  the  great  Catholic  Church  teaches  neither 
old  wives'  stories  nor  the  doctrines  and- command- 
ments of  men,  as  part  of  the  faith  revealed  by  God. 
The  honest  man  will  inquire  whether  by  tradition 
the  Church  perhaps  means  something  quite  differ- 
ent. The  dictionary  gives  several  meanings  of  the 
word.  There  are  oral,  written,  legal,  literary,  hu- 
man, apostolic,  divine  traditions.  The  Standard 
Dictionary  defines  tradition  in  a  special  sense  used 
by  the  Catholic  Church  as  "that  body  of  Christian 
doctrine  handed  down  through  successive  genera- 
tions of  its  faithful,  Avhich  is  held  by  the  Church  to 
belong  to  the  deposit  of  faith,  even  though  some  of 

♦Mk.    7,    8-9. 


THE  RULE  OP  FAITH  121 

its  parts  may  not  b*  explicitly  contained  in  Holy 
Scripture."  It  illustrates  the  definition  from  Car- 
dinal Newman :  '^  *  'Had  Scripture  never  been  writ- 
ten, tradition  would  have  existed  still :  it  has  an 
intrinsic,  substantive  authority  and  a  use  collateral 
to  Scripture."     " 

St.  Paul.  The  word  tradition  from  the  Latin 
tradere  means  to  hand  down,  to  teach.  It  often  car- 
ries the  significance  of  oral  teaching ;  as  where  Paul 
recalls  to  the  Corinthians  what  he  taught  them 
while  in  their  city:  *'For  I  have  received  of  the 
Lord  that  which  also  I  delivered  {tradidi)  unto 
you."^  Again  St.  Paul  makes  it  include  both  oral 
teaching  and  the  written  word.  **  Therefore  breth- 
ren stand  fast  and  hold  the  traditions  which  you 
have  learned  whether  b/  word  or  by  our  epistle."^ 
So  when  the  Church  speaks  of  Divine  Tradition, 
she  means  the  teachings  of  the  Divine  Master  which 
have  been  handed  down  from  the  Apostles.  The 
teachings  of  the  New  Testament  are  just  so  much  of 
that  Divine  Tradition  committed  to  writing. 

''All  Things  Whatsoever."  The  importance  of 
tradition  is  suggested  by  St.  Paul's  words:  ''Stand 
fast  and  hold  the  traditions  which  you  have  learned, 
whether  by  word  of  mouth  or  by  our  epistle."  To 
ignore  tradition  and  speak  of  "the  Bible  and  the 
Bible  only,"  is  a  position  wholly  unwarranted  by 
the  Bible  itself.  It  involves  the  loss  of  most  pre- 
cious truths,  including  the  authenticity,  the  inspira- 
tion, and  the  canon  of  the  Scriptures,  as  well  as  the 
key  to  their  understanding.  St.  Augustine  in  the 
fourth  century,  realized  that  apart  from  the  constant 
traditional  belief  of  the  Church,  he  could  find  no 
satisfying  argument  for  accepting  the  Gospels.  It 
is  upon  the  same  traditional  faith,  reflected  in  the 

"  Essays  Crit.   and  Histor,     "Apost.  Tradition,"  V.  I.,  p.  118. 
•I.  Cor.  11,  23. 
'  II.  Thes.  2,  14. 


122         THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 

constant  teaching  and  practice  of  the  Church  and 
witnessed  in  every  page  of  her  history,  that  even 
non-Catholic  Christians  receive  the  New  Testament 
as  an  inspired  book.  And  whether  they  realize  it 
or  not,  it  is  tradition  that  they  obey  in  keeping  Sun- 
day as  the  Sabbath  of  the  New  Law  instead  of  the 
Saturday  of  the  Old  Covenant. 

While  the  inspired  writers  do  not  pretend  to 
record  all  of  Christ's  teachings,^  our  faith  must  in- 
clude and  the  Church  must  teach  ''All  things  what- 
soever" the  Master  has  taught.^ 

Key  to  Bible.  It  is  in  arriving  at  the  correct  un- 
derstanding of  the  wards  of  Scripture,  that  the  im- 
portance of  tradition  becomes  fully  manifest.  Our 
American  laws  are  not  interpreted  by  the  private 
judgment  of  the  individual  citizen  nor  even  of  the 
judge  legally  sitting  in  a  case.  They  are  interpre- 
ted in  the  light  of  history,  of  the  precedents,  of  the 
decisions  of  competent  courts  and  of  the  sense  gen- 
erally held  by  legal  writers  of  acknowledged  au- 
thority. In  a  word  there  is  a  traditional  interpre- 
tation; and  to  depart  from  it  is  to  depart  from  the. 
original  sense  of  the  law. 

Similarly  **no  prophecy  of  Scripture  is  of  private 
interpretation."^^  That  which  was  inspired  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  to  be  safeguarded  by  the  same  Spirit 
of  Truth  whose  guiding  protection  is  promised  to 
the  Church  forever. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  Church  explains  the 
sacred  deposit  of  faith  in  no  novel  sense.  But  as 
circumstances  call  for  the  elucidation  or  settling  of 
any  point,  her  judges  study  the  matter  in  the  light 
of  history,  of  the  decisions  of  councils,  of  constant 
Christian  practice,  of  the  consensus  of  the  whole 
Church.  The  Church  has  made  her  own  the  test  of 
faith  so  well  put  by  St.  Vincent  of  Lerins:  That  is 

•John  21,  25.  »Mt.   28,   20.  ^o  II.  Peter  1,  20. 


CANON  OF  INSPIRED  BOOKS 


123 


Divine  Tradition  which  has  been  held  in  the  Church, 
always,  everywhere,  and  by  all, — **quod  semper, 
quod  ubique,  quod  ab  omnibus." 

With  this  traditional  interpretation  as  a  guide, 
the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures  become  wonderfully 
clear.  The  Church  has  no  difficulty  in  knowing  the 
gense  of  the  words  written  about  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per; because  she  knows  what  the  Christians  from 
the  very  beginning  have  believed  about  that  divine 
institution.  The  same  light  illumines  the  passages 
about  the  constitution  of  the  Church  and  the  for- 
giveness of  sins;  the  references  to  Purgatory  and 
Confirmation ;  as  well  as  many  allusions  which  most 
probably  would  be  missed  by  the  mere  reader  of  the 
bare  text.  When  the  individual  and  his  private 
judgment  usurp  the  office  of  the  Church  and  this 
traditional  judgment,  there  is  sure  to  be  sadly 
abundant  evidence  of  the  truth  of  St.  Peter's  warn- 
ing that  there  *'are  certain  things  (in  St.  Paul's 
writings)  hard  to  be  understood,  which  the  un- 
learned and  unstable  wrest,  as  they  do  also  the  other 
Scriptures,  to  their  own  destruction. ' ' " 

31.    THE   CANON  OF  INSPIRED  BOOKS. 

The  Canon  or  catalogue  of  the  inspired  books 
consists  of  the  following  writings: 


Old  Testament. 

Pentateuch     or 

Law 

2 

Kings  (2.   Samuel) 

(Torah)    of   Moses 

3. 

Kings    (1.  Kings) 

1.  Genesis 

4. 

Kings    (2.  Kings) 

2.  Exodus 

1. 

Parallpomenon 

3.   Leviticus 

(1.  Chronicles) 

4.   Numbers 

2. 

Paralipomenon 

5.   Deuteronomy 

(2.   Chronicles) 

Josue    (Joshua) 

1. 

Esdras    (Ezra) 

Judges 

2. 

E  8  d  r  a  8      (Nehe- 

Ruth 

miah) 

1.  Kings  (1.  Samuel) 

Tobias 

"II.  Peter  3, 

16. 

Judith 
Esther 
Job 
Psalms 
Proverbs 
Ecclesiastes 
Canticle    of    Canticles 
(Song  of   Solomon) 
Wisdom 
Ecclesiasticus 
Isaias    (Isaiah) 


124 


THE  CHUKCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Jeremias    (Jeremiah) 

Amos 

Aggeus    (Haggai) 
Zacharias      (Z  a  c  h  a- 

Lamentations    of   Jer- 

Abdias   (Obadiah) 

emias 

Jonas    (Jonah) 

riah) 

Baruch 

Micheas    (Micah) 

Malachias     (Malachi) 

Ezechial   (Ezeckiel) 

Nahum 

1.  Machabees 

Daniel 

Habacuc  (Habakkuk) 

2.  Machabees 

Osee  (Hosea) 

Sophonias         (Zepha- 

Joel 

niah) 

New  Testament. 

Gospel — Matthew 

Ephesians 

Epistle  of  James 

Gospel — Mark 

Philippians 

1.  Epistle  of   Peter 

Gospel — Luke 

Colossians 

2.  Epistle  of   Peter 

Gospel — John 

1.  Thessalonians 

1.  Epistle   of   John 

Acts  of  the  Apostles 

2.  Thessalonians 

2.  Epistle   of   John 

Epistles  of  Paul  to — 

1.   Timothy 

3.  Epistle    of    John 
Epistle  of  Jude 

Romans 

2.  Timothy 

1.  Corinthians 

Titus 

Apocalypse       (Revela- 

2. Corinthians 

Philemon 

tion)   of  St.  John 

Galatians 

Hebrews 

Deuterocanonical  Books.  Th^  Catholic  Canon 
of  Scriptures,  it  will  be  noticed,  includes  books  not 
found  in  the  copies  of  the  Bible  with  which  many 
of  my  readers  are  familiar.  They  are  Tobias,  Ju- 
dith, Wisdom,  Ecclesiasticus,  Baruch,  First  and  Sec- 
ond Machabees  and  fragments  of  Esther  and  Daniel. 
On  the  ground  that  their  scriptural  character  was 
doubted  by  some  in  the  early  days  of  the  Church, 
the  sixteenth  century  reformers  printed  these  seven 
books  in  their  Bibles  under  the  classification  of 
Apocrypha.  These  Scriptures  were  styled  deutero- 
canonical or  the  second  canon.  They  still  supply 
lessons  for  the  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England  and 
are  included  in  German  Lutheran  Bibles.  The 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  ceased  to  print 
them  in  1826.  The  American  Bible  Society  follows 
the  unfortunate  example.  According  to  Charles 
Augustus  Briggs,^  the  reformers,  in  rejecting  the 
deuterocanonical  books,  were  influenced  by  two  such 
unsafe  guides  as  the  subjective  test  of  their  feeling 
and  by  dogmatical  considerations  arising  from  their 
novel  theory  of  faith  and  good  works, 

»Introd.  to  study  of  Holy  Script.  Ch.  VI. 


CANON  OF  INSPIRED  BOOKS  125 

In  proclaiming  her  canon  of  the  Bible  at  the 
council  of  Trent,  the  Church  only  repeated  what  she 
had  taught,  and  the  body  of  Christians  had  be- 
lieved, from  the  beginning.  She  stood  by  the  Apos- 
tolic and  Christian  tradition.  The  canon  of  the 
Old  Testament  published  at  Trent  was  the  canon 
of  the  Septuagint,  the  version  of  Scripture  with 
which  the  Apostles  were  familiar.  The  New  Testa- 
ment does  not  directly  determine  the  canon  of  the 
Old  Testament.  But  of  350  quotations  from  the 
Old  Testament  found  in  the  New  Testament,  at 
least  300  are  from  the  Septuagint.  The  Jews  were 
not  agreed,  in  the  time  of  Christ,  about  the  canon 
of  their  Bible.  The  Holy  Ghost  speaking  through 
the  Apostles  and  the  Church  decides  the  mat- 
ter. 

The  early  Fathers  repeatedly  quote  the  deutero- 
canonical  books  as  inspired  Scripture.  If  they  at 
times  did  not  appeal  to  them  in  support  of  doc- 
trines, it  was  because  many  Jews  would  not  admit 
their  authority.  Before  the  canon  was  officially  set- 
tled, individuals  in  the  Church  might  disagree  about 
its  contents.  A  scholar  and  saint  like  Jerome  might 
be  mistaken.  But  when  the  universal  Christian 
faith  finds  expression  in  the  decisions  of  the  Church, 
there  is  no  longer  room  for  doubt. 

Inspiration.  The  Vatican  Council  teaches  that 
the  books  of  the  OM  and  New  Testaments  are  to  be 
received  as  sacred  and  inspired,  ''because  having 
been  written  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
they  have  God  for  their  author."  The  Council  of 
Florence  calls  God  the  author  of  both  Testaments, 
"for  by  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost  the  saints  of 
both  Testaments  have  spoken,  whose  books  (the 
Church)  accepts  and  reveres."  ''It  is  in  the  same 
sense,"  says  Wilmers,  "that  the  Council  of  Trent 
calls   God   the   author   of  both   Testaments."    The 


126         THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 

Church  has  not  defined  more  precisely  the  meaning 
of  inspiration. 

Gigot  speaks  of  Biblical  inspiration  as  a  ^'divine 
and  positive  influence  exerted  upon  certain  men  for 
the  purpose  of  transmitting  truth  to  others  and  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  books  compiled  by  the  sacred 
writers  have  God  for  their  author. ' '  ^ 

Breen  writes  that  inspiration  ''signifies  that  one 
is  impelled  by  God,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  in  him, 
moving  him  to  action  and  guiding  him  in  that  action. 
Hence  God  is  the  principal  author,  the  principal 
cause;  and  the  inspired  agent  is  the  instrumental 
cause.^ 

St.  Paul  teaches  the  divine  impulse  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  on  Scripture  in  general,  in  the  words:  ''All 
Scripture  inspired  of  God  is  profitable  to  teach," 
etc.*  St.  Peter  says  of  the  Scripture  writers: 
''The  holy  men  of  God  spoke  inspired  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.'' ^  Christ  declares  that  "All  things  must 
needs  be  fulfilled  which  are  written  in  the  law  of 
Moses,  and  in  the  prophets  and  in  the  psalms  con- 
cerning Me."^  Only  by  inspiration  could  the  Old 
Testament  authors  thus  write  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Though  God  is  the  principal  author  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, the  inspired  writers  do  not  cease  to  be  their 
human  authors.  The  personality  of  each  human  au- 
thor appears,  as  in  any  book,  in  his  style,  tempera- 
ment, education,  experience,  and  environment. 

The  inspired  writers  are  intelligent  free  agents. 
They  themselves  may  have  been  unaware  of  the 
fact  of  their  inspiration.  Inspiration  is  not  identical 
with  revelation.  The  inspired  writers  may  record 
what  they  already  know  from  personal  observation, 

2  Biblical  Lect.  p.  351. 
«  Introd.  to  Holy  Script,  p.  19. 

♦  II.  Tim.   3,   16.     Paul  does  not  state  which   are  the  Scriptures  in- 
•pired  of  God,  nor  that  they  alone  are  the  Rule  of  Faith. 
»II.  Peter  1,  21. 
•Luke  24,  44. 


CHURCH  PRESERVED  THE  BIBLE       127 

eye-witnesses,  preexisting  documents  and  other 
aids.  Verbal  difference  between  the  writers  may- 
exist  even  about  so  important  a  matter  as  the 
words  of  Christ  at  the  last  supper.  Though  the 
writer  is  inspired  to  teach  a  truth,  the  words  in 
which  he  will  express  it  are  not  necessarily  revealed 
to  him. 

As  the  division  of  the  books  of  the  Bible  into 
chapters  and  verses,  and  the  numbering  and  punctu- 
ation of  these,  are  very  modern  conveniences,  un- 
known to  the  ancient  codices,  they  are  not  matters 
of  inspiration,  as  some  sectaries  have  imagined. 

By  What  Authority.  In  her  successive  Councils 
and  in  her  daily  teaching,  the  Church  has  con- 
stantly proclaimed  that  Canon  of  inspired  books 
which  has  been  the  traditional  Christian  faith  since 
the  days  of  the  Apostles.  She  has  been  true  to  his- 
tory. But  her  teaching  has  even  a  greater  author- 
ity. She  has  spoken  as  the  official  teacher  left  by 
Christ  to  be  the  custodian  and  interpreter  of  the 
Christian  faith.  Her  decree  is  the  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  The  in- 
fallibility with  which  Christ  endowed  His  Church 
is  sufficient  warrant  that  the  decision  is  the  truth. 
Indeed  only  an  infallible  teacher  could  proclaim 
with  satisfying  authority,  the  Canon  of  inspired 
books. 

32.    THE    CHURCH   PRESERVED   THE   BIBLE. 

The  story  is  told  of  a  nun  whose  tombstone  in  a 
mediaeval  cemetery  bore  the  epitaph:  ''Her  life- 
work  was  to  transcribe  the  Bible.''  Her  friends 
thought  they  could  pay  her  no  higher  compliment. 
It  may  be  said  with  all  truth  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
that  she  has  spent  her  life  preserving  the  inspired 
books. 


128         THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 

Ancient  Times.  The  Catholic  Church  preserved 
the  writings  of  the  Apostles  during  their  first  three 
hundred  years,  when  they  were  scattered  through 
the  different  Christian  communities.  By  the  end 
of  the  fourth  century  she  had  officially  determined 
the  Canon  of  the  New  Testament.  The  inspired 
writings  were  separated  from  the  mass  of  apocry- 
phal literature  which  flourished  in  those  early  days. 
Henceforth  the  Christian  Scriptures  would  take 
their  place  with  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  in 
the  one  Holy  Bible. 

Middle  Ages.  The  Church  preserved  the  Bible 
during  the  next  thousand  years  from  the  Council  of 
Carthage  in  397,  to  the  invention  of  the  printing 
press  in  1438.  How  much  it  meant  to  preserve  the 
Bible  and  the  other  treasures  of  ancient  literature, 
through  those  long  centuries,  it  is  almost  impossible 
for  us  to  realize.  In  those  years,  when  Europe  was 
developing  from  barbarism  to  civilization,  the  mon- 
astery, the  center  of  whatever  culture  existed,  had 
its  scriptorium  or  writing-room.  There  men  or 
women,  whose  lives  were  consecrated  to  God  in  the 
service  of  fellowman,  were  occupied  day  after  day 
in  the  laborious  task  of  copying  books  by  hand. 
The  infinite  care  with  which  they  transcribed  their 
volumes,  and  the  wondrous  beauty  with  which  they 
often  illuminated  their  manuscripts,  have  won  the 
admiration  and  gratitude  of  succeeding  genera- 
tions. With  all  truth  it  may  be  said  that  to  the  re- 
ligious children  of  the  Catholic  Church,  we  owe 
not  only  the  Bible,  but  whatever  of  ancient  litera- 
ture has  survived  the  ravages  of  time  and  remains 
to  enrich  our  culture. 

A  beautiful  illuminated  manuscript  Bible  is  one 
of  the  proudest  possessions  of  our  Congressional  Li- 
brary at  Washington.  Another  Bible,  the  work  of 
the  twelfth  century  monks  of  Cluny,  was  bought  by 


CHURCH  PRESERVED  THE  BIBLE       129 

Mr.  J.  P.  Morgan  for  $25,000.00.  The  Vatican  Li- 
brary cherishes  among  its  countless  treasures,  a 
Greek  Testament  of  the  eleventh  century,  written 
entirely  in  letters  of  gold. 

Scriptorium.  The  venerable  folios  of  the  middle 
ages  bound  in  curious  skins  or  in  heavy  oak  boards, 
with  their  exquisitely  formed  letters,  their  every 
initial  a  picture  in  colors  and  gold  illustrating  the 
chapter,  recall  Longfellow's  vision  of  Friar  Pacificus 
in  the  Golden  Legend,  finishing  his  Bible  at  the 
close  of  day: 

"It  18  growing  dark!     Yet  one  line  more. 
And  then  my  work  for  the  day  is  o'er. 
I  come  again  ^o  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
Ere  I  that  awful  name  record, 
That  is  spoken  so  lightly  among  men, 
Let  me  pause  awhile  and  wash  my  pen; 
Pure  from  blemish  and  blot   it  must  be, 
When  it  writes  that  word  of  mystery. 

"This  is  well  written,   though  I  say  it! 
I  should  not  be  afraid  to  disphiy  it, 
In  open  day  on  the  self-same  shelf. 
With  the  writings  of  St.  Thecla  herself, 
Or  of  Theodosius  who  of  old, 
Wrote  the  Gospels  in  letters  of  gold! 
There  now  is  an  initial  letter! 
St.   Ulric   himself  never  made   a   better! 
Finished  down  to  the  leaf  and  the  snail, 
Down   to   the   eyes   on   the    peacock's    tail., 

"And  now  as  I  furn  the  volume  over,  ^ 

And  see  what  lies  between  cover  and  coverj, 
What  treasures  of  art  these  pages  hold, 
All"  ablaze  with  crimson  and  gold, 
God  forgive  me!     I   seem  to  feel 
A  certain  satisfaction   steal 
Into  my  heart  and  into  my  brain 
As  if  my  talent  had  not  lain 
Wrapped  in  a  napkin  all  in  vain. 


130         THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 

"Yes,  I  might  almost  say  to  the  Lord, 
Here  is  a  copy  of  thy  word. 
Written  out  with  much  toil  and  pain, 
Take  it,  0  Lord,  and  let  it  be. 
As  something  I  have  done  for  thee." 

Early  Printed  Bibles.  The  first  work  printed  on 
the  printing  press  was  the  Bible.  In  the  hundred 
years  from  the  invention  of  the  press  in  1438  to  the 
appearance  of  Luther's  version  of  the  Bible,  no 
less  than  626  editions  of  the  Bible  and  portions  of 
the  Bible — such  as  the  New  Testament  and  Psalms 
— had  been  published  in  the  different  languages  of 
Europe.^     Among  these  printed  editions  were: 

Language.  Entire  Bible.  Parts. 

Hebrew    12       ( Entire  0.  T.)    50 

Greek     3         19 

Latin      148         195 

Italian  ,.•  20 

French     26 

Flemish     19 

Spanish     2 

Bohemian    6 

Slavonic     1 

German    30 

These  incunabula  Bibles  are  preserved  in  the 
great  libraries  of  Europe.  Specimens  have  found 
their  way  to  America.  The  University  of  Notre 
Dame  possesses  a  German  Bible  printed  before  Lu- 
ther's translation.  Among  these  early  editions  was 
the  Complutensian  Polyglot  of  Cardinal  Ximenes 
(1437-1517),  Archbishop  of  Toledo  and  regent  of 
Spain.  It  was  published  in  six  folio  volumes,  at 
enormous  expense.  The  colophon  on  the  last  page 
of  the  Apocalypse  states  that  it  was  completed  Jan- 
uary   10,    1514.     Six   years   earlier   than  Ximenes, 

»Gigot,  Biblical  Lect.  p.  311. 


CHUKCli  PRESERVED  THE  BIBLE       131 

Erasmus  published  his  New  Testament  dedicated  to 
Pope  Leo  X, 

The  Vulgate.  Latin  editions  were  most  numer- 
ous, as  Latin  was  still  the  language  of  all  educated 
men.  The  received  Latin  text  got  the  name,  the 
Vulgate,  or  popular  version.  This  version  was 
largely  the  work  of  St.  Jerome,  who  was  commis- 
sioned to  make  the  translation  by  Pope  Damasus, 
about  A.  D.  380.  Jerome  brought  to  his  task  a 
scholarship  and  critical  method  that  have  earned 
for  him  the  title,  Doctor  of  Scripture.  He  more- 
over had  access  to  Hebrew  and  Greek  texts  which 
were  ancient  already  in  his  day  when  the  Vatican, 
the  Alexandrian,  the  Sinaitic,  our  oldest  codices, 
were  fresh  from  the  hand  of  the  copyist,  if  indeed 
they  existed  at  all.  The  Vulgate  is  the  authorized 
version  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

As  the  European  nations  developed  a  vernacular 
literature,  it  had  become  possible  to  translate  the 
Bible  worthily  into  their  different  languages.  Be- 
sides the  languages  already  mentioned,  an  Icelandic 
version  was  made  •  in  1297.  An  Irish  version  ap- 
peared in  1349,  and  a  Swedish  version  about  the 
same  time.  An  Ethiopic  version  was  made  at  Rome 
in  1548.  The  Venerable  Bede,  one  of  the  glories  of 
Anglo-Saxon  England,  died  in  735,  while  translating 
the  last  words  of  St.  John^s  Gospel. 

Foxe,  the  author  of  Foxe's  Book  of  Martyrs,  and 
a  hot-headed  anti-Catholic  zealot,  in  a  letter  to 
Archbishop  Parker,  wrote:  **If  histories  will  be 
examined,  we  will  find  both  before  the  Conquest 
(1066)  and  after,  as  w^ell  as  before  John  Wy cliff e 
was  born  as  since,  the  whole  body  of  the  Scriptures 
was  by  sundry  men  translated  into  our  country 
tongue.''  Sir  Thomas  More  and  Archbishop 
Cranmer  bear  testimony  to  the  same  truth. 

Douay.     The  Douay  version,  made  at  Douay,  and 


132        THE  CHUECH  AND  THE  BIBLE 

at  Eheims    (1582),  is  the  translation  most  in  use 
among  English-speaking  Catholics  to-day. 

Modern  Times.  The  Church  still  preserves  the 
Bible;  and  indeed  the  Scriptures  never  stood  in 
greater  need  of  a  faithful  custodian.  It  is  easy 
enough  to-day  to  preserve  and  multiply  copies  of 
the  sacred  text.  The  modern  press  turns  out  a  thou- 
sand impressions  in  a  few  hours.  To-day  the  Bible 
needs  to  be  preserved  as  the  word  of  God.  It  needs 
to  be  kept  for  the  children  what  it  was  for  their 
forefathers.  There  is  no  danger  that  its  material 
pages  shall  be  lost.  There  is  danger  of  the  loss  of 
the  faith  and  reverence  with  which  it  was  formerly 
read  as  a  revelation  from  Heaven.  Not  only  unbe- 
lievers, but  men  calling  themselves  Christian  lead- 
ers, abusing  Higher  Criticism,  bid  us  tear  one  book 
after  another  from  the  Bible,  till  if  we  listened  to 
them  all,  we  should  have  nothing  left  of  the  sacred 
volume  but  the  covers.  Meanwhile  the  Catholic 
Church  brings  to  the  defense  of  the  Bible  the  whole 
weight  of  her  authority  and  stands  for  the  inspira- 
tion and  truth  of  the  Scriptures  from  Genesis  to 
Eevelation. 

Church  Loves  Bible.  In  view  of  the  facts  of  his- 
tory, it  is  hard  to  understand  how  it  is,  that  many 
otherwise  intelligent  people  imagine  that  the  Catho- 
lic Church  does  not  love  the  Bible,  that  she  kept  it 
from  the  people  before  the  Reformation  and  that 
even  now  she  does  not  allow  them  to  read  it. 

Had  the  Church  not  loved  the  Bible,  she  had  only 
to  neglect  it  during  the  thousand  years  and  more 
when  she  was  its  sole  custodian;  and  those  who 
malign  her  to-day  would  have  no  Bible  at  all.  Far^ 
from  allowing  t^e  Bible  to  perish,  she  taught  her 
consecrated  children  to  give  their  lives  to  its  pres- 
ervation. 

Before  the  invention  of  printing,  Bible  societies 


CHURCH  PRESERVED  THE  BJBLE       133 

did  not  indeed  scatter  copies  of  the  sacred  text  with 
modern  prodigality.  When  the  manufacture  of  a 
single  copy  of  the  Scriptures  cost  perhaps  years  of 
a  skilled  workman's  time,  churches  and  schools 
were  glad  to  possess  one  copy  of  the  sacred  text. 
Moreover  when  the  nations  were  emerging  from , 
barbarism,  reading  was  not  a  common  accomplish- 
ment. Those  who  could  read  had  access  to  the  Bi- 
ble and  other  treasures  of  the  monastic  libraries. 
Those  who  could  not  read  learned  the  sacred  wis- 
dom from  the  lips  of  the  priests ;  ^  and  studied  the 
Biblical  lessons  painted  on  the  walls  of  the  church, 
and  blazoned  on  the  stained  glass  windows,  and 
carved  on  the  doors,  and  celebrated  in  the  feasts  of 
the  ecclesiastical  year,  and  represented  even  dra- 
matically in  the  moralities  and  mysteries  and  mira- 
cle plays.  Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  all  the  na- 
tions that  are  Christian  to-day,  were  converted  from 
paganism  before  the  close  of  the  middle  ages. 

The  Church  had  so  taught  her  children  to  revere 
the  Bible  as  a  letter  sent  to  them  by  God  Himself, 
that  when  some  went  out  from  her  unity,  whatever 
else  they  left  behind,  they  took  their  Bibles  with 
them.  The  manuscripts  of  the  Apostles  had  crum- 
bled to  dust  a  thousand  years  before  the  Reforma- 
tion. If  Protestants  love  the  Bible  they  will  be 
ever  grateful  to  the  Catholic  Church  who  made  it 
possible  for  them  to  possess  the  Bible. 

Catholics  Use  Bible.  Discussing  the  calumny 
that  the  middle  ages  were  ignorant  of  the  Bible,  Dr. 
Maitland,  the  non-Catholic  English  historian,  writes 
in  his  ''The  Dark  Ages": 

''The  fact  to  which  I  have  repeatedly  alluded  is 
this — the  writings  of  the  Dark  Ages  are,  if  I  may 
use  the  expression,  made  of  the  Scriptures.  I  do 
not  merely  mean  that  the  writers  constantly  quoted 

»MaL  2,  7. 


134         THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE 

the  Scriptures  and  appealed  to  them  as  authority 
on  all  occasions,  as  other  writers  have  done  since 
their  day — though  they  did  this,  and  it  is  a  strong 
proof  of  their  familiarity  with  them — but  I  mean 
that  they  thought,  and  spoke,  and  wrote  the 
thoughts  and  words  and  phrases  of  the  Bible,  and 
that  they  did  this  constantly  and  habitually  as  the 
natural  mode  of  expressing  themselves.  They  did 
it,  too,  not  exclusively  in  theological  or  ecclesias- 
tical matters,  but  in  histories,  biographies,  familiar 
letters,  legal  instruments,  and  in  documents  of  ev- 
ery description." 

To-day  Catholic  book  stores  are  well  stocked  with 
Bibles;  which  is  the  business  man's  answer  to  the 
absurd  charge  that  Catholics  are  not  allowed  to  read 
the  Bible.  Catholics  are  urged  to  read  the  sacred 
text.  Leo  XHI  granted  an  indulgence  of  300  days, 
to  be  gained  once  a  day,  and  a  plenary  indulgence 
once  a  month — under  the  usual  conditions — to  those 
who  devoutly  read  the  Bible  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
each  day. 

Catholics,  it  is  true,  will  not  accept  any  and  every 
volume  calling  itself  the  Holy  Bible.  They  want 
only  the  real  Bible.  It  must  be  a  true  translation 
and  so  a  genuine  copy  of  God's  word.  If  a  version 
can  stand  the  test  of  the  Church's  inspection  and 
merit  her  approbation,  Catholics  know  it  is  the  Bi- 
ble. When  the  inspired  text  is  altered  and  cor- 
rupted by  men,  it  is  no  longer  God's  message.  The 
wisdom  of  the  Church's  vigilant  supervision  of  the 
publication  of  the  Bible,  is  shown  in  the  fact  that 
the  Revised  Version  recently  (1872-1881)  made  by 
non-Catholic  scholars,  corrects  several  thousand  pas- 
sages of  the  King  James'  Bible — the  authorized 
version  of  the  Church  of  England.  If  the  Catho- 
lic Church  has  made  rules  regulating  the  publication 
and  reading  of  the  inspired  books  entrusted  by  God 


CHURCH  PRESERVED  THE  BIBLE       135 

to  her  care,  it  will  be  found  that  they  were  made  in 
the  truest  interests  of  both  the  Bible  and  the  people. 

The  mind  of  the  Church  is  seen  in  her  practice. 
The  prayers  of  the  Mass  and  other  services  are  red- 
olent with  Scripture.  The  Breviary  or  divine  of- 
fice recited  daily  by  the  priest  and  occupying  about 
an  hour,  is  mostly  Scripture.  Passages  from  the 
inspired  books  are  read  in  the  vernacular  and  ex- 
plained at  the  Sunday  Mass.  Leo  XIII  and  Pius 
X  by  their  writings  and  by  the  creation  of  the  Bib- 
lical Commission  and  the  Institute  of  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures, took  practical  means  to  defend  the  Bible  by 
affording  Christian  scholars  the  opportunities  to 
more  than  match  the  erudition  of  the  rationalist 
critics. 

Pope  Leo  XIII  in  1893,  wrote  of  the  Bible: 
*'This  grand  source  of  Catholic  revelation  should 
be  made  safely  and  abundantly  accessible  to  the 
flock  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Pope  Pius  VI  wrote  in  1778:  *^The  faithful 
should  be  excited  to  the  reading  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures: for  these  are  the  most  abundant  sources 
which  ought  to  be  left  open  to  every  one  to  draw 
from  them  purity  of  morals  and  doctrine." 

St.  Odo  of  Cluny  (d.  941)  expressed  the  thought 
of  the  middle  ages:  *'To  neglect  the  reading  of 
the  Bible,  is  as  if  we  w^ere  to  refuse  light  in  dark- 
ness. ' ' 

Pope  Gregory  I  (d.  604)  wrote:  ''The  Bible 
changes  the  heart  of  him  who  reads,  drawing  him 
from  worldly  desires  to  embrace  the  things  of  God." 

St.  Jerome  (d.  420)  says:  "To  be  ignorant  of  the 
Bible  is  to  be  ignorant  of  Christ." 


CHAPTER  VII 

SCIENCE  AND  EELIGION 
33.    SCIENCE  AND  THE  BIBLE. 

Men  often  misinterpret  the  Bible,  and  read  into 
its  text,  things  its  inspired  writers  never  thought  of 
teaching.  Again,  men  often  mistake  the  unproved 
theories  of  speculators  for  the  teachings  of  science. 
From  these  two  fountains  of  error,  arise  many- 
apparent  contradictions  between  the  Bible  and 
science.  Between  the  actual  teachings  of  divine  in- 
spiration and  the  certain  truths  of  natural  science, 
there  can  be  no  real  conflict.  God  is  the  author  of 
both.  All  our  views  of  truth  are  broken  lights  of 
the  one  Eternal  Truth  which  is  God.  Religion  and 
science  both  have  their  foundation  in  the  unchange- 
able nature  of  the  universal  Creator.  The  scholar 
may  recount  the  history  of  many  a  clash  between 
the  cosmic  theories  of  students  toiling,  in  their  gen- 
eration, in  their  respective  fields  of  physics  and  of 
theology;  but  he  will  not  speak  of  warfare  between 
science  and  religion. 

The  following  typical  conversation  between  a 
gray-haired  professor  and  a  youthful  student  who 
thinks  he  has  outgrown  his  faith  during  a  year  at 
his  state  university,  may  sufficiently  view  certain 
problems  associated  with  science  and  religion.  The 
arguments  follow  the  respective  articles  in  the  Cath- 
olic Encyclopedia. 

Bible    Science.     Student. — *'If   the    Bible    is   in- 

136 


SCIENCE  AND  THE  BIBLE  137 

spired,  why  does  it  talk  as  though  the  sun  rose  in 
the  east  and  set  in  the  west?" 

Prof. — '*It  speaks  in  the  language  of  the  day,  and 
refers  to  the  phenomenon  according  to  appearances; 
just  as  we  do  popularly  and  outside  of  text-books, 
even  at  the  present  time.  No  systematic  observa- 
tions of  the  heavenly  bodies  were  made  by  the  Jews. 
The  descriptive  phrases  used  by  the  Sacred  Books, 
as  might  be  expected,  cctnform  to  the  elementary 
ideas  naturally  presenting  themselves  to  a  primitive 
people.'' 

Student. — ''Why  doesn't  the  Bible  speak  with  sci- 
entific accuracy?" 

Prof. — *'It  is  not  a  text-book  of  science.  If  it 
speaks  of  astronomical  or  geological  phenomena,  it 
is  generally  by  way  of  literary  illustration, — to 
point  a  moral  or  adorn  a  tale.  In  no  age  or  tongue 
does  literature  confine  itself  to  scientifically  accu- 
rate statement.  Again  Oriental  literature  especially 
revels  in  metaphor  and  poetic  imagery.  The  con- 
fusion of  the  literal  and  figurative  language,  the 
realism  and  mysticism,  the  historical,  typical  and 
allegorical  senses  of  the  Hebrew  writers,  is  the 
source  of  many  of  our  Biblical  difficulties." 

Student. — "How  is  it  that  the  Bible  and  science 
flatly  contradict  each  other  in  their  teaching  about 
the  age  of  the  human  race." 

Prof. — * '  I  was  not  aware  that  either  the  Bible  or 
science  had  decided  that  problem.  Scholars  con- 
sider that  the  question  is  far  from  being  definitely 
answered  by  Scripture  or  the  natural  sciences,  and 
will  probably  never  be  settled." 

Days  of  Creation.  Student. — ''How  can  you  ex- 
pect an  intelligent  Catholic  to  believe  that  the 
world  was  made  in  six  days  of  twenty-four  hours?" 

Prof. — "I  do  not  know  a  single  Catholic  who 
holds  such  an  opinion." 


138  SCIENCE  AND  EELIGION 

Student. — "Isn't  that  what  is  clearly  taught  in 
the  first  pages  of  the  Bible?'' 

Prof. — "Great  scholars  who  have  spent  years  in 
their  study,  do  not  find  the  first  pages  of  Genesis 
as  clear  as  you  think  them.  One  thing  they  do 
clearly  teach  is  that  God  is  the  Creator  of  all  things. 
That  is  their  essential  message.'' 

Student. — "My  opinion  is  that  what  you  call  days 
were  in  reality  great  epochs  of  time  during  which 
creation  developed  into  its  present  condition.  That 
corresponds  better  with  modern  scientific  thought." 

Prof. — "Your  opinion  is  not  new  with  yourself. 
It  has  been  held  for  a  long  time  by  plenty  of  Catho- 
lic scholars  like  Holzammer,  Pianciani,  and  the 
celebrated  Hettinger." 

Student. — "Is  it  the  common  theory  of  Catholic 
scholars  ? ' ' 

Prof. — "It  is  the  view  most  commonly  held. 
There  are  also  other  explanations  of  the  Mosaic  cos- 
mogony. Yon  Hummelauer  regards  the  six  days 
as  so  many  visions  of  Moses,  without  reference  to 
time.  Bishop  Clifford  and  others  regard  the  ac- 
count of  the  creation  as  a  hymn,  in  which  the  vari- 
ous portions  of  creation  are  commemorated  on  the 
days  of  the  week.  The  Jewish  Sabbath  is  thus  em- 
phasized. St.  Augustine  and  St.  Thomas  of  Aquin 
thought  that  the  act  of  creation  required  but  an  in- 
stant and  that  Moses'  account  of  its  development 
is  largely  allegorical. 

"You  complain  that  disputes  have  prevailed  as 
to  the  exact  correspondence  of  the  order  of  crea- 
tion as  recorded  in  Genesis,  with  the  discoveries  of 
modern  astronomical  and  geological  science.  The 
wonderful  thing  is  that  the  ancient  account  in  its 
popular  dress,  should  be  so  near  the  truth  that 
there  is  possibility  of  dispute  about  the  matter. 
Take  all  the  other  cosmogonies  found  in  ancient 


EVOLUTION  139 

records,  and  which  one  would  be  even  discussed  as 
having  any  material  correspondence  with  modern 
science?  It  was  possible  for  a  man  of  science  suf- 
ficiently distinguished  to  be  the  President  of  the 
British  Association  to  state  that  *'it  would  not  be 
easy  even  now  to  construct  a  statement  of  the  de- 
velopment of  the  world  in  popular  terms  so  concise 
and  so  accurate  as  the  story  of  Genesis.'* 

34.    EVOLUTION. 

Student. — **If  the  Bible  account  of  the  creation 
can  be  reconciled  with  the  doctrine  of  evolution, 
my  science  need  not  interfere  with  my  religion. '* 

Prof. — ** Pasteur's  did  not.  If  you  know  your 
science  and  practice  your  religion  as  well  as  he  did, 
you  will  doubtless  find  that  on  being  brought  to- 
gether the  two  will  prove  very  agreeable  friends." 

Student. — **You  are  laughing  at  me.  What  I 
meant  was,  that  I  am  glad  a  Catholic  need  not  deny 
the  theory  of  evolution." 

Prof. — **The  theory  of  evolution  was  first  pro- 
pounded (1809)  by  a  French  Catholic,  Lamarck. 
Some  forms  of  that  theory  are  not  incompatible 
with  the  principles  of  the  Christian  conception  of 
the  Universe." 

Student. — ^'I  thought  Darwin  was  the  founder 
of  the  theory  of  evolution." 

Prof. — *' Darwinism  and  the  theory  of  evolution 
are  by  no  means  equivalent  conceptions.  Darwin- 
ism is  but  one  form  of  the  general  theory  of  evolu- 
tion. It  explains  the  origin  of  species  by  natural 
selection,  the  breeding  of  new  species  depending  on 
the  survival  of  the  fittest  in  the  struggle  for  ex- 
istence." 

Student. — **You  say  there  are  various  views  or 
forms  of  the  general  theory?" 


140  SCIENCE  AND  EELIGION 

Prof. — ''You  may  view  evolution  as  a  scientific 
hypothesis,  or  you  may  view  it  as  a  philosophical 
speculation.  The  former  assuming  that  the  various 
species  of  plants  and  animals  on  our  earth  have  de- 
scended from  extinct  species  and  that  the  organic 
species  are  not  constant  or  immutable,  seeks  to  de- 
termine the  historical  succession  of  the  different 
species  and  to  show  how  in  the  course  of  the  differ- 
ent geological  epochs,  they  gradually  evolved  from 
their  beginnings  by  purely  natural  causes  of  spe- 
cific developments.  Thus  we  have  Darwin's  'nat- 
ural selection,'  Lamarck's  'inheritance  of  acquired 
characters,'  and  Mendel's  'segregation.'  The 
scientific  theory  of  evolution  does  not  concern  itself 
with  the  origin  of  life.  It  merely  inquires  into  the 
genetic  relation  of  systematic  species,  genera  and 
families,  and  endeavors  to  arrange  them  according 
to  natural  series  of  descent  or  genetic  trees." 

Student. — "Is  that  opposed  to  religious  teach- 
ings?" 

Prof. — "No.  As  Knabenbauer  states,  there  is  no 
objection,  so  far  as  faith  is  concerned,  to  assuming 
the  descent  of  all  plant  and  animal  species  from  a 
few  types.  Scripture  does  not  tell  us  in  what  form 
the  present  species  of  plants  and  animals  were  cre- 
ated." 

Student. — ^"And  what  about  evolution  as  a  philo- 
sophical speculation?" 

Prof. — "Leaving  the  observation  and  classifica- 
tion of  minute  data  and  tangible  facts,  which  is 
the  scientist's  field,  and  rising  to  the  philosopher's 
uncertain  realm  of  speculation,  the  theory  of  evolu- 
tion as  a  philosophical  conception  considers  the  en- 
tire history  of  the  cosmos  as  an  harmonious  devel- 
opment, brought  about  by  natural  law." 

Student. — "Can  this  square  with  the  Bible?" 

Prof. — "The  Bible  says:     'In  the  beginning  God 


EVOLUTION  141 

created  heaven  and  earth.'  The  point  of  Genesis 
is  less  to  describe  the  mode  of  creation,  than  to 
state  the  fact  that  the  world  is  the  creature  of  God. 
If  God  produced  the  universe  by  a  single  creative 
act  of  His  will,  then  its  natural  development  by- 
laws implanted  in  it  by  the  Creator,  is  to  the  greater 
glory  of  His  divine  power  and  wisdom.  St.  Thomas 
says:  'The  potency  of  a  cause  is  the  greater,  the 
more  remote  the  effects  to  which  i.t  extends.'  Su- 
arez  states  another  principle:  *God  does  not  in- 
terfere directly  with  the  natural  order,  where 
secondary  causes  suffice  to  produce  the  intended 
effect.'  Thus  conceived  evolution  is  again  in  agree- 
ment with  the  Christian  view  of  the  universe. 

**In  the  hands  of  atheists  and  materialists,  who 
deny  the  existence  of  God,  this  theory  is  rendered 
ineffectual  to  account  for  the  first  beginning  of  the 
cosmos  or  for  its  law  of  evolution.  Philosophy  says 
that  there  is  no  effect  without  its  cause:  and  nat- 
ural science  denies  spontaneous  generation — the  in- 
dependent genesis  of  a  living  being  from  non-living 
matter.  Haeckel  extended  the  selection  theory  of 
Darwin,  and  attempts  to  account  for  the  whole 
evolution  of  the  cosmos  by  means  of  chance  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest.  As  Haeckel  does  not  admit  the 
existence  of  God  as  the  first  cause,  this  atheistic  ex- 
planation, which  does  not  explain,  this  materialistic 
philosophy  failing  to  account  for  effects  by  ade- 
quate cause,  is  compatible  neither  with  science  nor 
religion." 

Student. — *'What  about  the  evolution  theory 
when  applied  to  man?" 

Prof. — "That  God  should  have  made  use  of  nat- 
ural, evolutionary,  original  causes  in  the  production 
of  man's  body,  is  per  se  not  improbable.  St.  Au- 
gustine propounded  this  idea  in  the  fifth  century. 
But   the   human   soul   cannot   be   derived   through 


142  SCIENCE  AND  KELIGION 

natural  evolution  from  the  brute,  since  it  is  of  a 
spiritual  nature;  for  which  reason  we  must  refer 
its  origin  to  a  creative  act  on  the  part  of  God/* 

Student. — ^'If  the  evolution  theory  is  not  neces- 
sarily antagonist  to  faith,  why  are  many  Chris- 
tians so  conservative  about  adopting  itT' 

Prof. — ** Probably  because  they  don't  see  any 
good  reason  why  they  should.'' 

Student. — ^'Has  not  science  proved  it?" 

Prof. — ''Not  at  all.  However  pleasing  to  many 
minds  and  plausible  as  a  speculation,  it  remains  true 
that  the  evolution  theory  is  only  a  theory.  The  ori- 
gin of  life  is  unknown  to  science ;  as  is  also  the  ori- 
gin of  the  main  organic  types.  As  to  the  human 
race,  the  earliest  fossils  and  the  most  ancient 
traces  of  culture  refer  to  man,  as  we  know  him  to- 
day. There  is  no  trace  of  even  a  merely  probable 
argument  in  favor  of  the  animal  origin  of  man." 

Student. — ''Perhaps  they  will  yet  find  the  missing 
link." 

Prof. — "There  is  no  chain  which  a  missing  link 
would  complete,  in  spite  of  the  romances  of  men 
like  Haeckel." 

Student. — "What  opinion  would  you  recommend 
to  the  common  man  ? ' ' 

Prof. — "We  know  we  were  created  by  God:  and 
the  grave-yard  will  tell  us  that  our  bodies  were 
made  from  the  dust  of  the  earth.  Is  it  absolutely 
necessary  at  the  present  time,  to  insist  on  an  opinion 
about  the  process?" 

35.    MIRACLES. 

Student. — "Don't  you  think  it  is  absurd,  in  our 
day,  to  speak  seriously  of  miracles?" 

Prof. — "It  is  never  absurd  to  speak  seriously  of 
facts.    It  is  the  characteristic  of  our  present  spirit 


MIRACLES  143 

of  scientific  investigation  to  speak  very  seriously  of 
phenomena  whose  mysterious  nature  suggests  that 
there  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth  than  are 
accounted  for  in  the  philosophy  of  our  physics  and 
chemistry.  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  perhaps  at  present 
the  greatest  English  scientist,  said  in  the  very  mod- 
ern year,  1911: — 'The  region  of  the  miraculous  has 
been  hastily  and  illegitimately  denied.  So  long  as 
we  do  not  imagine  it  to  be  a  region  denuded  of  a 
law  and  order  of  its  own,  our  denial  has  no  founda- 
tion.' '' 

Student. — *'So  you  really  think  they  are  facts  T* 

Prof. — "If  they  were  not  facts,  they  would  not 
occupy  the  thoughts  of  serious  scholars.  Miracles 
are  effects  produced  in  the  material  creation,  ap- 
pealing to  and  grasped  by  the  senses.  The  feeling 
of  wonder  which  is  excited  in  the  observer  and 
which  gives  its  name  to  the  phenomenon,  is  due  to 
the  circumstance  that  its  cause  is  hidden  and  an 
effect  is  expected  other  than  actually  takes  place. 
Hence  in  comparison  with  the  ordinary  course  of 
things,  the  miracle  is  extraordinary.'' 

Student. — ''If  a  fact  violates  the  laws  of  nature, 
I  would  not  believe  it  even  if  I  observed  it  with  my 
seven  senses." 

Prof. — "The  real  scientist  is  very  careful  about 
the  meaning  of  the  words  he  uses.  Only  dilettanti 
with  no  reputation  to  lose,  like  many  of  the  writers 
who  contribute  so-called  popular  science  articles 
to  the  Sunday  newspapers,  can  afford  to  be  flippant. 
To  deny  a  fact  because  it  does  not  agree  with  your 
theory,  would  be  as  unscientific  as  to  refuse  cre- 
dence to  the  testimony  of  men's  senses,  which  is 
precisely  the  foundation  on  which  the  observations 
of  the  natural  sciences  are  based.  What  you  want 
to  say  is  probably  this.  If  you  met  a  phenomenon 
that  seemed  to  violate  the  laws  of  nature,  you  would 


144  SCIENCE  AND  KELIGION 

be  very  slow  to  give  an  opinion  about  it,  and  very 
careful  in  observing  it  and  authenticating  testimony 
concerning  it.  If  you  were  finally  convinced  that 
you  were  dealing  with  a  fact,  extraordinary  but 
real,  even  though  it  could  not  be  accounted  for  by 
your  theories,  you  would  admit  that  it  had  its  right- 
ful place  in  the  universe  and  you  would  set  about  to 
discover  its  nature  and  causes,  and  to  ascertain 
whether  it  really  did  violate  the  laws  of  nature." 

Student. — ''But  isn't  it  conceded  that  miracles 
would  be  in  violation  of  all  natural  laws?'' 

Prof. — ''Not  at  all.  A  miracle  may  be  above  na- 
ture, when  the  effect  produced  is  above  the  native 
powers  and  forces  in  creatures,  of  which  the  known 
laws  of  nature  are  the  expression.  Christ  did  not 
violate  any  law  of  nature  in  raising  Lazarus  from 
the  dead.  He  effected  something  quite  above  the 
powers  of  nature. 

"Again,  a  miracle  may  be  said  to  be  outside  or 
beside  nature,  when  natural  forces  may  have  its 
power  to  produce  the  effort,  at  least  in  part,  but 
could  not  of  themselves  have  produced  it  the  way 
it  was  brought  about.  Thus  an  effect  takes  place 
instantaneously,  without  the  means  or  processes 
which  nature  employs.  The  changing  of  water 
into  wine  or  the  sudden  healing  of  a  large  extent 
of  diseased  tissue  by  a  draught  of  water,  does  not 
violate  any  law  of  nature.  Nature  produces  the 
same  effects  but  not  in  the  manner  of  the  miracle 
of  Cana. 

"  "Again  miracles  that  seem  contrary  to  the  laws  of 
nature,  really  imply  an  intelligent  control  of  natural 
forces,  and  are  not  'unnatural'  in  the  sense  of  pro- 
ducing discord  or  confusion.  The  forces  of  nature 
differ  in  power  and  are  in  constant  interaction. 
This  produces  interferences  and  counteraction  of 
forces,  biological,  mechanical  and  chemical.    Man 


MIRACLES  U5 

continually  interferes  with  and  counteracts  natural 
forces  about  him.  He  studies  the  properties  of  nat- 
ural forces  with  a  view  to  obtain  conscious  control 
by  intelligent  counteraction  of  one  force  against 
another.  Intelligent  counteraction  makes  progress 
in  chemistry  and  physics,  and  is  used  in  the  phy- 
sician's prescription,  in  steam-locomotion  and  avia- 
tion. Man  controls  nature  and  can  live  only  by 
counteraction  of  its  forces.  Though  this  goes  on 
daily  about  us,  we  do  not  speak  of  natural  forces 
being  paralyzed  or  of  nature's  laws  being  violated. 
In  a  miracle  is  God's  action,  so  counteracting  and 
displacing  and  arranging  the  forces  of  nature,  that 
they  work  out  His  will.'* 

Student. — ''Of  course  if  one  admits  God  as  an 
intelligence  and  will,  outside  of  nature  .and  able  to 
control  it,  in  a  way  analogous  to  man's  control,  mir- 
acles are  not  impossible." 

Prof. — ''And  don't  you  believe  in  God?  To  the 
materialist,  atheist,  and  pantheist,  miracles  are 
merely  natural  events  which  the  beholder  can  re- 
duce to  no  law  with  which  he  is  at  present  ac- 
quainted. Their  view  ultimately  rests  upon  the  as- 
sumption that  the  material  universe  alone  exists. 
Mill  admits  Hume's  argument  against  miracles  from 
the  'uniform  sequence'  of  nature,  to  be  valid  only 
on  the  supposition  that  God  does  not  exist." 

Student. — "Still  I  cannot  see  the  purpose  of  mir- 
acles. I  would  have  to  get  mighty  good  proof  of 
any  particular  one,  before  believing  it." 

Prof. — "I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  agree  with  at 
least  your  last  sentence.  While  the  general  rules 
governing  the  acceptance  of  testimony  apply  to 
miracles  as  well  as  to  other  facts  of  history,  the 
extraordinary  nature  of  the  miracle  requires  more 
complete  and  more  accurate  investigation.  No 
critic  is  more  exacting  in  his  demands  for  proof  of 


146  SCIENCE  AND  RELIGION 

an  alleged  miracle  than  is  the  Catholic  Church. 
Still  in  the  end,  as  even  Huxley  says,  it  ^.s  a  ques- 
tion of  evidence  pure  and  simple. 

''The  purpose  of  miracles  is  the  manifestation 
of  God's  glory  and  the  good  of  man.  The  miracles 
of  Christ  may  not  have  been  "necessary,  but  they 
appear  most  fitting  and  in  accord  with  His  mission : 
while  they  lead  the  people  to  glorify  the  power  of 
God,  they  also  served  to  endorse  His  messenger 
and  open  minds  to  receive  His  revelation.  Man  is 
created  for  God :  and  a  miracle  becomes  a  proof  and 
pledge  of  God's  supernatural  providence." 

36.    LIST  OF  CATHOLIC  SCIENTISTS. 

The  charge  that  there  is  a  hopeless  conflict  be- 
tween science  and  religion,  may  be  best  met  by  the 
very  scientific  method  of  observing  the  facts  in  the 
case.  The  history  of  the  natural  sciences  affords 
overwhelming  refutation  of  the  fallacy  that  a  man 
cannot  be  at  the  same  time  a  scientist  and  a  Chris- 
tian. 

The  following  is  a  very  incomplete  list  of  Catho- 
lic scientists.  It  is  taken  not  from  the  departments 
of  history  and  philosophy  in  which  churchmen  have 
always  held  eminent  place,  but  from  the  natural 
sciences.  The  names  will  be  recognized  as  those 
of  the  very  giants  in  the  different  fields  of  scientific 
investigation.  These  Catholic  scientists,  together 
with  other  Christians  equally  illustrious,  such  as 
Newton,  Kepler,  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  Farraday, 
Agassiz,  Dana,  Dalton,  Cuvier,  Leibnitz,  Lord  Kel- 
vin, Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  etc.,  are  undying  witnesses 
of  the  truth  that  there  is  neither  warfare  nor  con- 
tradiction between  the  teachings  of  God's  book  of 
nature  and  His  book  of  supernatural  revelation. 

Astronomy.     Astronomy  is  rich  in  Catholic  and 


LIST  OF  CATHOLIC  SCIENTISTS         147 

priestly  names.  Regiomontanus,  the  greatest  as- 
tronomer Europe  produced  up  to  the  15th  century, 
was  Bishop  of  Ratisbon  and  tutor  of  Copernicus. 
Copernicus,  who  discovered  that  the  sun  is  the 
center  of  our  motion  and  that  the  planets  revolve 
about  it  and  on  their  axis,  was  a  priest.  Nicholas 
de  Cusa  was  a  Cardinal.  Galileo,  the  father  of  ex- 
perimental science,  the  inventor  of  the  telescope, 
microscope,  pendulum  and  the  creator  of  dynamics, 
was  a  sincere  Catholic.  Gassendi,  a  priest  of  the 
17th  century,  studied  comets,  dissipating  the  super- 
stitious fear  of  them;  and  first  observed  the  transit 
of  a  planet,  Mercury,  across  the  sun's  disc.  The 
Jesuit  Secchi  is  the  greatest  authority  on  the  sun. 
Piazzi,  a  monk,  discovered  Ceres  and  prepared  the 
fii-st  standard  catalogue  of  7646  stars.  The  Abbe 
de  Lacaille  erected  an  observatory  at  Cape  Town, 
where  a  catalogue  of  10,000  stars  was  made  from 
southern  observations.  Jean  Picard,  another  French 
ecclesiastic,  made  the  first  accurate  measurement 
of  a  degree  of  the  meridian,  which  measure  enabled 
Newton  to  establish  the  law  of  universal  gravita- 
tion. Pope  Gregory  XIII  in.  1582,  corrected  the 
Julian  calendar  and  gave  us  our  present  Gregorian 
system.  Leverrier,  discoverer  of  Neptune,  is  called 
the  giant  of  modern  astronomy.  Plana 's  study  of 
the  moon  all  but  exhausts  the  subject.  De  Vico 
and  Grimaldi  were  Jesuits.  Cassini,  Boscovich, 
Maraldi,  Castelli,  Bianchini,  Perry,  Denza,  are  other 
Catholic  names  illustrious  in  astronomy. 

Electricity.  Galvani  and  Volta  discovered  the 
continuous  current  of  electric  energy,  the  founda- 
tion of  telegraphy  and  telephones.  Ampere  discov- 
ered the  Amperian  or  electro-dynamic  theory. 
Abbe  Nollet  first  observed  the  electric  spark  from 
the  human  body.  Father  Caselli,  1856,  invented  the 
Pantelegraph    or    copying    telegraph.     Nobili    in- 


148  SCIENCE  AND  RELIGION 

vented  the  thermo-electric  battery;  Plante,  the 
storage  battery;  Foucault,  the  first  electric  lamp; 
Gramme,  the  electro-motor;  Marconi,  the  wireless 
telegraph.  The  seismographic  and  meteorological 
work  of  the  Jesuits,  at  Havana,  Manila  and  other 
observatories  is  appreciated  for  its  practical  as  well 
as  scientific  value.  Blot,  Nollet,  Carre,  Pacinotti 
are  other  Catholic  names  in  electricity. 

Chemistry.  Lavoisier  (1743-1794),  is  counted 
the  founder  of  modern  chemistry.  Before  him 
Schwartz,  a  monk  of  Cologne,  had  invented  gun- 
powder (1320).  His  brother  monk,  Basil  Valentine 
(b.  1394)  founded  analytic  and  pharmacological 
chemistry.  Dumas  measured  the  specific  gravity  of 
vapors  and  invented  the  theory  of  substitutions. 
Bacqueral  led  in  electro-chemistry.  Minkelers  dis- 
covered the  preparation  of  illuminating  gas.  Chev- 
reul,  Agricola,  Van  Helmont  are  honored  names. 
Madame  Sklodovska  Curie  is  the  heroine  of  radium 
and  of  Polonium,  the  latter  metal  being  so  named 
in  honor  of  her  native  Poland. 

Thermotics.  The  science  of  heat  places  Fourier 
at  the  head  of  its  servants.  Dulong  and  Petit  dis- 
covered the  laws  of  atomic  heat.  Melloni  traced 
the  transmission  of  heat.  Regnauet  prepared  the 
table  of  the  specific  heats  of  solids.  Mariotte,  a 
priest,  discovered  the  effects  of  caloric  on  the  ex- 
pansion* of  gases.  Sanctorius  made  the  first  ther- 
mometer; Torricelli,  1647,  the  first  barometer. 

Physiology  and  Medicine.  Couvier  tells  us  that 
three  Catholic  professors,  Vesalius,  Fallopius,  and 
Eustachius  are  the  founders  of  modern  anatomical 
science.  Realdus  Columbus  discovered  the  pulmo- 
nary circulation  of  the  blood.  The  observations  of 
Caesalpinus  and  Fabricius  led  Harvey,  the  pupil  of 
Fabricius,  to  discover  the  greater  circulation.  Mal- 
pighi,   father  of  comparative  anatomy,  introduced 


LIST  O^^  (   NTHOLIC  SCIENTISTS         149 

the  microscope  into  anatomical  examination  and  dis- 
covered the  capillary  circulation  from  the  arteries 
to  the  veins.  Bichat,  Santorini  and  Bellingeri 
studied  the  nerves  and  discovered  their  two  sys- 
tems. Guy  de  Chauliac,  papal  chamberlain,  is  the 
father  of  modern  surgery.  Steno,  discoverer  of 
Steno's  duct  and  first  to  demonstrate  that  the  heart 
is  a  muscle,  was  a  Catholic  Bishop.  Paracelsus,  Bag- 
livi,  Aselli,  Fabricius,  Columbus,  Steno  Varolius, 
Sylvius,  Winslow,  Fallopius,  Eustachius,  practically 
all  the  men  for  whom  structures  of  the  body  are 
named,  were  Catholic  scientists. 

In  the  more  recent  phase  of  the  development  of 
medicine,  the  greatest  names  are  Morgagni,  father 
of  pathology;  Auenbrugger,  father  of  physical  di- 
agnosis; Galvani,  father  of  medical  electricity; 
Laennec,  founder  of  our  knowledge  of  pulmonary 
disease;  Claude  Bernard,  father  of  modern  physiol- 
ogy; Theodore  Schwann,  whose  discovery  that  all 
living  tissues  are  composed  of  cells,  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  true  progress  in  biological  science ;  Louis 
Pasteur,  whose  labors  in  bacteriology  raised  medi- 
cine to  a  science  and  made  him  the  immortal  bene- 
factor of  mankind.  All  of  these  geniuses,  with 
Redi,  Johannes  Mueller,  Spallanzani,  Santono,  Lan- 
cisi,  and  many  more  giants  of  medicine  and  physi- 
ology, were  Catholic  men. 

Mathematics  and  Physics.  Mathematics  received 
its  great  modern  advancement  w^hen  Rene  Descartes, 
in  1637,  invented  analytic  geometry.  Gaspard 
Monge  invented  descriptive  geometry  and  applied 
the  infinitesimal  calculus  to  the  general  theory  of 
surfaces.  Cauchy  developed  the  calculus  of  imagi- 
naries.  Pascal  aided  Leibnitz  in  the  invention  of 
differential  calculus.  John  Buteon,  a  priest,  gave 
us  the  algebraic  signs. 

Mechanics  revived  under  Galileo  and  his  school 


150  SCIENCE  AND  RELIGION 

teaching  of  the  laws  of  motion,  of  falling  bodies, 
etc.  Pascal  taught  the  equilibrium  of  fluids,  dem- 
onstrated the  weight  of  air  and  invented  the  hy- 
draulic press.  Flavio  Gioia  invented  the  mariner's 
compass,  1302.  Coulomb  devised  the  torsion  bal- 
ance. The  monk  Gerbert  invented  clocks,  999. 
Guttenberg,  1438,  invented  the  printing  press. 

Acoustics.  Acoustics  owes  its  mathematical  foun- 
dation to  the'  genius  of  Galileo.  Father*  Marsenne 
is  the  first  great  authority  on  sound  vibration. 
Couchy  calculated  the  transverse,  longitudinal  and 
rotary  vibration  of  elastic  rods.  Gassendi,  Cassini 
and  Picard  were  among  the  first  to  measure  the  ve- 
locity of  sound. 

Optics.  Optics  counts  as  its  greatest  name  Fres- 
nel,  who  discovered  the  undulatory  theory.  Biot 
discovered  the  laws  of  rotary  polarization.  Malus 
invented  the  polariscope,  discovered  the  laws  of 
double  refraction  and  the  phenomenon  of  polariza- 
tion. Fizeau  and  Foucault  measured  the  velocity 
of  light.  Grimaldi  first  observed  diffraction.  Lenses 
were  invented  by  Armati,  1280;  spectacles  by 
the  Florentine  monk,  de  Spina,  1285 ;  the  camera 
obscura  by  della  Porta,  1615 ;  the  magic  lantern 
by  Father  Kircher,  1680 ;  photography  by  Daguerre 
and  Niepce,  1851.  The  X-rays  was  discovered  by 
Roentgen. 

Geology.  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Frascatoro,  Fabio 
Colonna,  Bishop  Steno,  Buffon,  Scilla,  Vallisneri, 
Father  Spada,  Moro,  Generelli,  Donati,  Sorginet, 
Bourgeois,  Delauney,  Lazzaro,  Johannes  Mueller  are 
the  great  and  Catholic  names  in  geology. 

Mineralogy.  The  priest  Rene  Just  Hauy  who 
created  the  modern  science  of  crystallography,  dis- 
covered both  the  laws  of  constancy  of  the  primitive 
forma  and  the  laws  by  which  the  secondary  forms 
are  derived  from  the  primitive,  and  applied  them 


LIST  OF  CATHOLIC  SCIENTISTS         151 

to  the  whole  mineral  kingdom.  The  Jesuit  Cam- 
pania invented  the  art  of  carving  precious  stones. 
Agricola  is  preeminent  in  metallurgy. 

Geography.  Geography  is  one  of  the  oldest  sci- 
ences, latitude  and  longitude  being  used  before 
Christ.  Yet  most  will  give  the  first  place  in  this 
department  to  Christopher  Columbus.  Columbus 
was  stimulated  by  the  works  of  Marco  Polo,  whom 
Alex.  Humboldt  calls  the  greatest  traveler  of  any 
age.  Magellan  first  circumnavigated  the  globe. 
Vasco  da  Gama  rounded  Good  Hope  and  reached 
India  by  sea.  Amerigo  Vespucci  gave  his  name  to 
America.  Balboa  first  beheld  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Orellana  first  navigated  and  Father  Acuna  first  de- 
scribed the  Amazon.  Cortes  explored  Mexico  and 
discovered  California.  Father  Marquette  and  Joliet 
explored  the  Mississippi,  which  was  discovered  by 
De  Soto.  Mercator,  Pizarro,  La  Salle,  the  Cabots, 
Le.  Caron,  Cartier,  Champlain,  Hennepin,  Membre 
and  scores  of  other  Catholic  men,  many  of  them 
priests  and  missionaries,  have  an  undying  glory  in 
the  early  history  of  America;  and  have  given  the 
names  of  saints  and  heroes  to  the  valleys  and  moun- 
tains, the  towns  and  rivers  of  the  land. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  FATHERS 
37.     THE  FATHERS. 

In  every  century  since  the  time  of  the  Apostles 
there  have  been  men  who  wrote  in  explanation 
or  defense  of  the  Christian  faith.  While  not  lay- 
ing claim  to  the  authority  of  the  inspired  writers, 
their  works  are  nevertheless  of  very  great  impor- 
tance. The  Fathers  are  the  witnesses  of  the  faith 
and  practice  of  the  Christians  of  their  generations. 
So  they  ever  afterward  have  relation  to  both  the 
Bible  and  the  Church.  While  as  Moehler  says, 
**  There  must  be  Fathers  of  the  Church,  as  long  as 
the  Church  herself  lasts,"  yet  by  the  term  ''the 
Fathers,"  are  generally  understood  those  ecclesi- 
astical writers  of  old,  who  on  account  of  their  learn- 
ing and  holiness  of  life,  have  been  recognized  as 
such  by  the  Church.  So  that  antiquity,  as  well  as 
ecclesiastical  learning,  orthodox  doctrine,  holiness 
of  life,  and  the  approbation  of  the  Church,  usually 
enter  into  our  concept  of  the  Fathers. 

Some  of  the  Fathers  on  account  of  their  greater 
learning  and  holiness  have  been  honored  by  the 
Church  with  the  title  of  ''Doctors  of  the  Church." 
Thus  Saints  Athanasius,  Basil,  Gregory  of  Nazian- 
zen,  John  Chrysostom,  among  the  Greeks ;  and  Saints 
Ambrose,  Jerome,  Augustine  of  Hippo,  Pope  Greg- 
ory the  Great,  among  the  Latins^  are  styled  the 
great  Doctors  of  the  •Church. 

Some  early  authors,  though  living  in  the  Church, 
have   not   always,   in   their   lives   or  writings,   ex- 

152 


THE  FATHERS  153 

pressed  her  pure  doctrine,  and  are  technically  called 
^'Ecclesiastical  Writers";  as  Clement  of  Alexan- 
dria, Origen,  Tertullian,  Eusebius.  Others  again, 
like  Novatian,*  who  have  left  behind  writings  on 
matters  of  faith,  but  did  not  live  in  the  communion 
of  the  Church,  are  styled  ''Christian  Writers." 

The  Fathers  are  spoken  of  according  to  their  lan- 
guage as  Greek  or  Latin ;  according  to  their  author- 
ity as  greater  or  lesser;  according  to  their  age  as 
apostolic,  post-apostolic,  early,  later,  anti-Nicene 
(before  the  Council  of  Nice,  A.  D.  325)  and  post- 
Nicene.^ 

Authority.  These  ancient  Christian  authors  in- 
clude, popes,  bishops,  priests  and  laymen.  They 
preached  in  sermons ;  interpreted  the  Scriptures ; 
wrote  history;  carried  on  controversy  with  Chris- 
tians who  had  fallen  into  heresy  and  away  from  the 
Church ;  addressed  apologies  for  their  Christian 
faith  to  their  neighboi*s  who  still  sat  in  the  dark- 
ness of  paganism.  They  were  often  men  of  the 
liighest  culture  which  the  Greek  and  Roman  schools 
of  philosophy  and  literature  afforded ;  and  they 
brought  their  genius  and  learning  to  the  defense 
and  exposition  of  the  Christian  religion.  Their 
works  are  valuable  for  their  splendid  exhortations, 
their  pregnant  phrases  carrying  whole  sermons 
in  their  bosoms,  their  devotion  and  spiritual  life. 
But  their  writings  have  another  value.  They  are 
the  historical  monuments  of  early  Christianity. 
They  are  the  record  of  the  Church's  traditional 
teachings  and  practice. 

It  is  accordingly,  an  accepted  principle,  that  **the 
agreement  of  all  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  to- 
gether, in  matters  of  faith  and  morals,  begets  com- 
plete certainty  and  commands  assent,  because  they, 

1  "The  False  Decretals"  of  some  9th  century  writer  in  France  or 
Spain  have  no  authority  in  the  Church.  The  claims  of  the  Papacy  in 
no  way  depend  upon  them. 


154  THE  FATHER^ 

as  a  body,  bear  witness  to  the  teaching  and  belief 
of  the  infallible  Church.  The  consensus,  howevei*, 
need  not  be  absolute;  a  moral  agreement  suffices; 
as  for  instance,  when  some  of  the  greatest  Fathers 
testify  to  a  doctrine  of  the  Church  and  the  rest, 
though  quite  aware  of  it,  do  not  oppose  it.  What- 
ever, therefore,  the  Fathers  unanimously  teach  as 
the  divinely  revealed  tradition  of  the  Church,  must 
be  accepted  and  believed  as  such.''^ 

Patrology.  There  have  always  been  in  the 
Church,  men  who  were  able  to  appreciate  the  Fa- 
thers and  willing  to  preserve  their  works.  St. 
Jerome  (d.  420)  composed  a  book  containing  ac- 
count of  the  lives  and  works  of  135  writers  begin- 
ning with  the  Apostles'  age  and  ending  with  his 
own.  This  was  continued  by  Gennadius  of  Mar- 
seilles (d.  496),  St.  Isidore  of  Seville  (d.  636),  and 
others.  The  Greek  Patriarch  Photius  (d.  891)  com- 
piled a  similar  work.  In  more  modern  times  Cardi- 
nal Bellarmine  (d.  1621)  cultivated  Patrology  in 
accordance  with  the  rules  of  historical  criticism.  A 
century  later  the  Benedictines  of  St.  Maur  and  the 
French  Oratorians  wrought  marvels  in  this  depart- 
ment. The  great  Benedictine  folios  rejoice  the 
heart  of  every  book-lover;  while  their  scholarship 
is  the  admiration  of  the  learned.  The  field  of  Pa- 
trology has  been  constantly  worked  ever  since  by 
the  most  enlightened  scholars,  as  the  great  mine  of 
Christian  antiquity.  The  Migne  edition  of  the  Fa- 
thers and  early  Christian  writers  comprises  379 
large  quarto  volumes;  162  tomes  of  Greek  and  217 
of  Latin  writers. 

The  translation  of  many  works  of  the  Fathers 
into  English  by  scholars  at  Oxford  and  Edinburg, 
had  much  to  do  with  the  Oxford  movement  in  the 
middle    of    the    nineteenth    century.     John    Henry 

2  Schmid,    Man.   of   Patrology,    Ch.   II. 


THE  FATHERS  155 

Newman  writes,  ''The  Fathers  made  me  a  Catholic." 
Men  found  that  the  Church  of  the  Fathers  was  iden- 
tical in  constitution  and  faith  with  the  Catholic 
Church  of  the  nineteenth  century;  that  the  Church 
of  Rome  in  the  days  of  Peter  and  Paul  and  Clement, 
was  not  different  from  the  Church  of  Rome  in  our 
own  days.  The  Fathers  revealed  to  men  that  the 
Church  of  Christ  had  not  failed  but  that  like  its 
founder,  it  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  for- 
ever. 

List  of  Writers.  The  following  is  a  chronological 
list  of  the  principal  ecclesiastiaal  writers  of  the 
early  centuries.  The  dates  are  sometimes  only  ap- 
proximate. 

The  Apostolic  Fathers.  Didache  or  Doctrine  of 
the  Twelve  Apostles;  Bar,nabas  d.  76;  Clement  of 
Rome  d.  101 ;  Ignatius  of  Antioch  d.  107 ;  Letter  to 
Diogenetus;  Hermas;  Polycarp  d.  166;  Papias  d. 
160. 

Apologists  of  the  Second  Century.  Justin  Mar- 
tyr d.  167;  Tatian  d.  180;  Athenagoras  d.  130;  Mel- 
ito  of  Sardes  d.  180;  Theophilus  of  Alexandria  d. 
186;  Hermias  d.  200. 

Third  Century.  Irenaeus,  Bp.  of  Lyons  d.  202; 
Pantivnus  d.  200;  Clement  of  Alexandria  d.  215; 
Gajus  d.  220;  Julius  Africanus  d.  232;  Hippolytus, 
Martyr  d.  235;  Tertullian  d.  240;  Minucius  Felix; 
Pope  Cornelius  d.  252 ;  Alexander  Bp.  of  Jerusalem 
d.  252 ;  Origen  d.  254 ;  Pope  Stephen  d.  257 ;  Cyprian 
Bp.  of  Carthage  d.  258;  Novatian  d.  262;  Dionysius 
of  Alexandria  d.  264;  Firmilian  d.  269;  Gregory 
Thaumaturgus  d.  270;  Archelaus  d.  282. 

Fourth  Century.  Pamphilus  d.  309 ;  Methodius  d. 
312 ;  Peter  of  Alexandria  d.  311 ;  Arnobius  d.  325 ; 
Lactantius  d.  330 ;  Juvencus  d.  337 ;  Eusebius  of 
C^esaria  d.  340;  Julius  d.  352;  Hilary  of  Portiers  d. 
366;  Athanasius  d.  373;  Basil  d.  379;  Ephraem  of 


156  THE  FATHERS 

Syria  d.  379 ;  Optatus  d.  384 ;  Pope  Damasus  d.  384 ; 
Cyril  of  Jerusalem  d.  386 ;  Macariiis  d.  390 ;  Gregory 
Nazianzen  d.  390;  Pacian  of  Barcelona  d.  391;  Di- 
odorus  d.  392 ;  Didymus  d.  395 ;  Gregory  of  Nyssa  d. 
395 ;  Siricius  d.  398 ;  Ambrose  Bp.  of  Milan  d.  397. 

Fifth  Century.  Epiphanius  d.  403;  Sulpicius 
Severus  d.  410;  Chrysostom  d.  407;  Rufinus  d.  410; 
Prudentius  d.  410;  Synesius  d.  413;  Jerome  d.  420; 
Theodore  of  Mopsuestia  d.  428 ;  Augustine  of  Hippo 
d.  430;  Nilus  d.  440;  Paulinus  d.  431;  Isidore  of 
Pelusium  d.  440 ;  John  Cassian  d.  435 ;  Dionysius 
the  Areopagite;  Cyril  of  Alexandria  d.  444;  Euche- 
rius  d.  449 ;  Hilary  of  Aries  d.  449 ;  Vincent  of  Lerins 
d.  450;  Peter  Chrysologus  d.  450;  Prosper  of  Aqui- 
taine  d.  463 ;  Sedulius  d.  455 ;  Theodoret  of  Cyrus  d. 
458;  Pope  Leo  I  the  Great  d.  461;  Salvian  d.  490. 

Sixth  and  Seventh  Centuries.  Ennobius  d.  521; 
Boethius  d.  525 ;  Fugentius  d.  533 ;  Caesarius  of  Aries 
d.  542;  Benedict,  founder  of  the  Benedictine  order 
d.  543;  Cassiodorus  d.  570;  Gregory  of  Tours  d. 
594;  Venantius  Fortunatus  d.  602;  Gregory  the 
Great  d.  604;  John  Climacus  d.  600;  Isidore  of  Se- 
ville d.  636 ;  Sophronius  d.  638 ;  Maximus  d.  662 ; 
Anastasius  Sinaita  d.  700;  John  Damascene  d.  754. 

38.    RESUME  OP  PART  SECOND— THE  CHRIS- 
TIAN CHURCH. 

As  Saul  of  Tarsus,  breathing  out  threatenings 
and  slaughter  against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,  jour- 
neyed toward  Damascus,  armed  with  letters  for  the 
arrest  of  any  Christians  he  might  find  there,  he 
was  suddenly  blinded  with  a  light  from  Heaven 
and  thrown  from  his  horse  to  the  earth;  and  he 
heard  a  voice  saying  unto-him:  ^ 

*'Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  Mef    When 

lAct.  9,  1-6. 


RESUME  OF  PART  TWO  157 

Saul  answered,  **Who  art  thou,  Lord?*'  the  Lord 
made  answer:  ''I  am  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  per- 
secutest."  Thus  Jesus  Christ  identifies  Himself 
with  the  Church  which  He  founded  to  continue  His 
work  in  the  world.  To  persecute  His  Church  even 
with  intentions  as  good  as  Saul's,  is  to  persecute 
Himself.  To  oppose  His  Church  in  its  divinely- 
given  mission,  is  to  oppose  His  own  work, — to  in- 
terfere with  the  instrument  through  which  He 
speaks  His  truth  and  brings  the  benison  of  His 
ministry  and  the  salvation  of  His  cross  to  all  men 
and  all  ages. 

Later  on  when  the  Apostle  Paul  realized  the  inti- 
mate union  between  Christ  and  His  Church,  he  re- 
pented of  the  misguided  zeal  which  made  him  an 
unwitting  persecutor  of  Christ.  '*!  am  not  worthy 
to  be  called  an  Aposfle,''  he  declared,  "because  I 
persecuted  the  Church  of  God."-  Through  his 
tears  of  repentance,  he  saw  the  more  clearly  that 
the  Church  is  the  instrument  of  Christ  and  that 
Christ  is  the  life  of  the  Church.  Again  and  again 
he  speaks  of  the  Church  as  the  mystical  body  of 
Christ.^  Christ  is  the  living  and  life-giving  Head 
of  the  Church.*  After  Paul,  Christian  writers  have 
well  called  the  Church  the  continuation  of  the  In- 
carnation. 

While  those  withmit  have  admired  its  splendid 
organization,  those  within,  conscious  that  the  secret 
of  its  vitality  is  Jesus  Christ,  think  of  the  Church, 
not  merely  as  an  organization  but  as  a  living  or- 
ganism. 

In  the  second  part  of  our  work,  we  have  studied 
the  Christian  Church — as  a  society,  as  a  teacher, 
and  in  its  relation  to  the  Holy  Scriptures.  We  have 
beheld  the  Church  in  the  promise  of  Christ  recorded 

»I.  Cor.  15,  9. 

»Eph.  4,   12-16;  Col.  1,  24;  I.  Cor.  12,  27;  Rom.  12,  5. 

*Eph.   4,   15;   Col.   1,   18. 


158  THE  FATHERS 

in  the  Bible,  and  in  the  realization  of  those  prom- 
ises in  history — a  visible  society  abiding  through 
the  ages,  bearing  infallible  witness  to  the  teachings 
of  Christ,  preserving  and  interpreting  the  pages  of 
the  inspired  writers,  presided  over  by  the  successors 
of  the  Apostles,  and  marshaling  the  army  of  Christ 
in  the  unity  of  faith  and  charity.  At  the  head  of 
this  visible  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  is  the  suc- 
cessor of  St.  Peter,  feeding  the  sheep  and  lambs  of 
the  flock,  as  the  vicar  of  Christ  who  is  ever  the  di- 
vine invisible  head  of  the  Christian  body.  Around 
the  City  of  Rome,  which  Providence  gave  to  St. 
Peter  as  the  capital  of  the  Church,  and  around  its 
Bishops,  who  have  succeeded  the  prince  of  the  Apos- 
tles in  his  primatial  office,  has  centered  the  history 
of  the  Christian  Church  since  the  days  of  Christ. 

Dr.  Charles  Augustus  Briggs,  the  eminent  non- 
Catholic  theolo'gian,  bears  the  following  witness  to 
this  relation  of  the  Papacy  to  the  Church  of  Christ. 

**The  Papacy  is  one  of  the  greatest  institutions 
that  has  ever  existed  in  the  world;  it  is  much  the 
greatest  now  existing,  and  it  looks  forward  with 
calm  assurance  to  a  still  greater  future.  Its  domin- 
ion extends  throughout  the  world  over  the  only 
CEcumenical  Church.  All  other  churches  are  na- 
tional or  provincial  in  their  organization.  It 
reaches  back  in  unbroken  su^ession  through  more 
than  eighteen  centuries  to  St.  Peter,  appointed  by 
the  Savior  of  the  world  to  be  the  Primate  of  the 
Apostles.  It  commands  the  great  central  body  of 
Christianity,  which  has  ever  remained  the  same  or- 
ganism since  Apostolic  times.  All  other  Christian 
organizations,  however  separate  they  may  be  from 
the  parent  stock,  have  their  share  in  the  Papacy 
as  a  part  of  the  Christian  heritage,  and  are  regarded 
by  the  Papacy  as  subject  to  its  jurisdiction.  The 
authority  of  the  Papacy  is  recognized  as  supreme  in 


RESUME  OF  PART  TWO  159 

all  ecclesiastical  affairs,  by  the  most  compact  and 
best-organized  body  of  mankind;  and  as  infallible 
in  determination  of  doctrines  of  faith  and  morals 
when  it  speaks  ex  cathedra. 

*'We  shall  have  to  admit  that  the  Christian 
Church  from  the  earliest  times  recognized  the  pri- 
macy of  the  Roman  Bishop ;  and  that  all  the  other 
great  Sees  at  times  recognized  the  supreme  juris- 
diction of  Rome  in  matters  of  doctrine,  government 
and  discipline. 

**The  history  of  the  Papacy  has  been  a  history 
of  storm  and  conflict.  About  it  have  raged  for  cen- 
turies the  greatest  battles  in  all  history.  The  gates 
of  hell  have  been  open  in  Rome,  if  anywhere  in  this 
world.  .  .  .  And  yet  these  forces  of  evil  have  al- 
ways been  driven  back.  When  the  conflict  has  sub- 
sided, the  Papacy  has  stood  forth  stronger  than 
ever.  Is  there  not  historic  truth  in  saying,  'The 
gates  of  hell  have  not  prevailed  against  it'?  Are 
not  the  words  of  Jesus  to  St.  Peter  equally  appro- 
priate to  his  successors?  *  Simon,  Simoo,  behold, 
Satan  asked  to  have  you,  that  he  might  sift  you  as 
wheat;  but  I  made  supplication  for  thee,  that  thy 
faith  fail  not ;  and  do  thou,  when  thou  art  converted, 
strengthen  thy  brethren.'  '' 


PART  THEEE 

CHAPTER  IX 

CHRIST  OUR  HIGH  PRIEST 
39.     THE  SEVEN  SACRAMENTS. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the  Life. 
He  is  our  King,  our  Prophet,  our  Priest.  Through 
the  Church  by  which  Christ  continues  His  work  in 
the  world,  He  still  exercises  His  three-fold  office. 
We  have  studied  the  Church  as  a  society  and  as  a 
teacher.  She  is  a  society  in  order  that  she*  may  be 
a  teacher.  She  is  a  teacher,  that  through  the  truth 
taught,  the  lives  of  her  children  may  be  brought 
into  union  with  the  Eternal  Life.  That  is  the  final 
purpose  of  all  her  activities.  In  the  present  chap- 
ters we  shall  observe  the  means  by  which  Christ 
applies  the  grace  of  His  eternal  priesthood  to  the 
daily  lives  of  men. 

Stages  of  Life.  From  cradle  to  grave  the  Church 
consecrates  with  sacramental  rites,  every  stage  of 
man's  life  journey;  yea  and  in  the  face  of  death 
abandons  him  not,  but  sends  her  prayers  after  his 
soul  even  to  the  judgment  throne  of  God,  while  over 
the  tomb  that  holds  his  mortal  remains  she  raises 
the  Cross,  the  symbol  of  her  faith  and  hope. 

Thus  in  Baptism  the  child  of  Adam  is  born  into 
the  supernatural  life  of  Christ  and  started  on  its 
career  of  Christian  faith  and  service.  As  the  years 
bring  the  youthful  Christian  face  to  face  with  the 

160 


THE  SEVEN  SACRAMENTS  161 

battle  of  life,  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  fur- 
nishes him  with  the  armor  of  the  soldier  of  Christ. 
If  the  Christian  falls  mortally  wounded  by  sin,  the 
Sacrament  of  Confession  restores  the  spiritual  life. 
In  the.  Eucharistic  Sacrament,  the  Christian  finds 
real  union  with  God  as  the  life-giving  food  of  the 
soul.  With  manhood  comes  the  call  to  a  wortfty 
life-work.  If  the  call  be  to  the  domestic  hearth,  the 
Sacrament  of  Marriage  unites  the  two  lives  for  God 
and  blesses  their  home.  If  the  vocation  be  to  the 
Christian  ministry,  the  Sacrament  of  Holy  Orders 
consecrates  the  chosen  life  to  its  divine  work  and 
confers  the  powers  of  the  priesthood.  Finally  when 
the  Christian  hovers  between  life  and  death,  the 
Church  is  at  his  side  with  the  sacred  oils  of  Ex- 
treme Unction  bringing  health  to  the  body,  if  God 
so  wills;  or  strength  to  the  soul  to  greet  the  silent 
messenger  with  the  supernatural  courage  that  comes 
of  union  with  Christ. 

Matter  and  Spirit.  The  Seven  Sacraments  of  the 
Christian  religion  are  channels  of  the  divine  grace 
by  which  Jesus  Christ  elevates  man  to  supernatural 
union  with  God  and  blesses  with  needed  help  every 
stage  of  his  life.  In  the  Sacraments  Christ  em- 
ploys material  signs  full  of  meaning  and  beauty. 
This  is  in  harmony  with  our  human  nature,  made 
up  as  it  is,  of  body  as  well  as  spirit;  and  it  is  in 
harmony  with  His  incarnation  wherein  ''the  Word 
was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  amongst  us."  But  the 
sacraments  are  more  than  mere  symbols.  They  are 
fountains  of  divine  grace.  We  are  baptized  with 
water  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  We  are  confirmed  wuth 
oil  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  We  are  ordained  priests 
by  the  imposition  of  hands  and  the  communication 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  ''Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost; 
whose  sins  ye  shall  forgive,  they  are  forgiven  them," 
were  the  words  of  Christ  to  His  Apostles  at  the 


162  CHRIST  OUR  HIGH  PRIEST 

institution  of  the  sacrament  by  which  the  Christian 
separated  from  God  by  sin,  would  again  be  en- 
livened by  the  Spirit  of  Sanctity.  In  the  Eucharist, 
under  the  species  of  bread  and  wine,  we  really  re- 
ceive Jesus  Christ. 

Definition.  Deharbe  defines  a  sacrament  as  a  vis- 
ible sign,  instituted  by  Jesus  Christ,  by  which  in- 
visible grace  and  inward  sanctification  are  commu- 
nicated to  the  soul. 

The  Sacraments,  says  Spirago,  are  sensible  signs 
instituted  by  Christ  by  means  of  which  the  graces 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  communicated  to  us. 

The  definition  of  a  sacrament  includes  three  ele- 
ments: the  outward  sign,  the  inward  grace,  the  in- 
stitution by  Jesus  Christ. 

Mysteries.  The  Sacraments  are  bound  up  with 
several  of  the  deepest  mysteries  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. To  have  any  understamding  of  the  Sacra- 
ments and  the  importance  of  their  place  in  the 
Christian  dispensation,  it  is  necessary  to  know 
something  of  the  divine  grace  of  which  they  are  the 
channels ;  the  atonement  of  Christ  which  makes  that 
grace  possible ;  the  supernatural  life  to  which  sanc- 
tifying grace  raises  man ;  original  sin  by  which  man 
lost  that  supernatural  life  in  Adam's  fall.  Nature 
and  grace ;  natural  and  supernatural ;  human  and 
divine;  the  free  will  of  man  cooperating  with  the 
grace  of  God  unto  its  own  salvation,  or  rebelling 
against  His  law  unto  its  own  ruin;  the  silent  min- 
istration of  the  Holy  Spirit;  salvation  wrought  by 
Jesus  Christ  and  conveyed  to  the  individual  soul 
by  the  sacramental  channels;  these  mysteries  are 
the  key  to  the  Christian  religion.  Though  we  may 
not  fully  understand,  we  can  rightly  apprehend  the 
mysteries  made  known  by  divine  revelation. 

Having  established  the  authority  of  the  Church 
as  the  infallible   custodian  and  teacher  of   divine 


EXALTATION  AND  FALL  163 

revelation,  we  can  listen  now  to  her  voice  and  with 
^fullest  conviction  accept  her  teaching  of  the  mys- 
teries of  the  Christian  faith.  In  making  a  brief 
statement  of  truths  necessary  for  the  understanding 
of  the  Sacraments,  our  great  argument  will  be: 
thus  saith  the  Church.  For  behind  the  voice  of  the 
Church  is  the  sanction:  thus  saith  the  Lord. 

40.     EXALTATION  AND  FALL. 

Of  all  creatures  of  earth,  it  is  man  who  is  made 
in  the  image  of  his'  Creator.  God  made  man  to 
His  own  likeness  by  the  fact  that  He  endowed  man 
with  qualities  which  give  us  a  resemblance,  how- 
ever imperfect,  to  God  Himself.  Some  of  these 
qualities  belong  to  the  integrity  of  our  human  na- 
ture, either  as  forming  part  of  it,  or  resulting  from 
it  or  in  some  way  due  to  it.  They  are  called  natu- 
ral gifts.  Such  natural  gifts  are  body  and  soul, 
intellect,  free-will  and  immortality. 

Natural  and  SupernaturaL  But  besides  these 
natural  gifts  and  the  life  and  happiness  which  their 
possession  makes  possible,  God  raised  man  to  a  des- 
tiny far  surpassing  the  powers  and  rights  of  our 
human  nature.  From  the  shadows  and  reflections 
of  a  merely  natural  knowledge  of  God,  we  are  called 
to  behold  Him  face  to  face  in  Heaven.  From  being 
mere  creatures,  we  are  called  to  be  the  adopted  chil- 
dren of  God,  and  not  only  to  share  His  celestial  home, 
but  even  His  own  divine  nature.  These  gifts  are 
supernatural  and  make  us  the  supernatural  image 
of  our  heavenly  Father.  The  elevation  of  man  to 
a  supernatural  state  is  well  described  by  Scripture, 
as  the  gift  of  a  new  and  higher  life.  With  the  grace 
of  this  supernatural  life,  are  given  the  powers  and 
faculties  so  to  say,  needful  for  its  activities  and  en- 
joyment.   And   the    happiness    of    supernal    union 


164  CHKIST  OUR  HIGH  PRIEST 

with  God  of  which  it  makes  us  capable,  becomes 
henceforth  our  supernatural  destiny. 

Man's  Exaltation.  These  supernatural  gifts,' 
then,  are  no  wise  due  to  man's  nature.  They  are 
the  free  gift  of  the  Creator's  loving  goodness.  They 
bestow  a  life  to  which  the  powers  of  nature  could 
never  attain  nor  its  proper  needs  lay  claim.  This 
divine  gift  of  a  higher  life  with  God,  is  well  called 
the  Grace  of  Sanctification.  For  by  this  Sanctify- 
ing Grace  man  is  exalted  above  the  exigencies  of 
his  own  humble  nature  and  destined  to  be  a  par- 
taker of  the  Divine  Nature  itself.^  This  union  with 
God  is  our  supernatural  life.  From  being  merely 
creatures  of  God  we  are  given  ''power  to  be  made 
the  sons  of  God."  ''You  have  received  the  spirit 
of  adoption  of  sons,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba-Fa- 
ther. ' '  2  As  children  of  God  we  receive  the  right  of 
heirs  to  Heaven.  Our  nature  of  itself  would  be 
capable  only  of  a  natural  knowledge  of  the  Creator, 
and  destined  for  a  natural  happiness.  Our  eleva- 
tion to  the  supernatural  order  makes  it  possible  for 
us  to  enjoy  the  supernal  knowledge  and  bliss  of  the 
Beatific  Vision;  to  be  united  with  God  and  partici- 
pate in  His  divine  life.  "Behold  what  manner  of 
charity  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that  we 
should  be  called,  and  should  be,  the  sons  of  God. 
.  .  .  We  are  now  the  sons  of  God  and  it  hath 
not  yet  appeared  what  we  shall  be.  We  know  that 
when  He  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  to  Him,  be- 
cause we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is.''^ 

Man's  Fall.  Our  first  parents  were  thus  created 
not  only  with  their  natural  endowments,  but  also 
with  supernatural  gifts  of  God.  In  Adam  the  hu- 
man race  was  destined  for  supernatural  life  and 
happiness.  In  his  disobedience  to  the  law  of  the 
Creator  sin  entered  our  world  with  its  train  of  woe- 

.     »II.  Peter  1,  4.  '  Rom.  8,  15.  « I.  John  3,  1-2. 


EXALTATION  AND  FALL  165 

ful  consequences.  In  turning  away  from  God  in 
the  sin  of  disobedience,  our  first  parents  destroyed 
the  union  with  God  wiiich  was  the  supernatural  life 
of  their  souls.  They  lost  the  adoption  of  the  chil- 
dren of  God  conferred  in  sanctifying  grace.  They 
retained  the  natural  life  of  creatures,  but  forfeited 
the  participation  in  the  divine  life  given  them  as 
isons  of  God.  Their  supernatural  gifts  were  gone. 
All  that  belonged  to  their  nature  remained  indeed, 
but  suffered  in  the  loss  of  the  supernatural  gifts 
by  whose  association  the  natural  faculties  had  been 
ennobled.  The  understanding  was  darkened ;  the 
will  was  weakened.  Adam  and  Eve  w^ent  forth 
from  the  happiness  of  Paradise  to  till  the  earth  in 
the  sweat  of  their  brow;  to  die;  and  unless  for- 
given by  God  and  raised  again  to  the  supernatural 
life  which  they  had  lost,  to  remain  separated  from 
God  forever. 

Death  of  Soul.  Our  natural  life  consists  of  the 
union  of  body  and  soul.  Human  death  consists  in 
the  separation  of  body  and  soul ;  not  in  the  annihila- 
tion of  either;  body  as  well  as  soul,  however  much 
changed,  survives  death.  The  supernatural  life  of 
the  soul  consists  of  the  supernatural  union  of  the 
soul  and  God.  The  death  of  the  soul  consists,  not 
in  its  annihilation,  for  it  is  immortal,  but  in  its  sepa- 
ration from  God.  Original  sin  is  called  by  the 
Church,  the  death  of  the  soul.* 

Original  Sin.  The  children  of  Adam  inherit  from 
him  human  nature  unadorned  with  supernatural 
life.  We  are  born  without  sanctifying  grace  and 
the  union  with  God  which  it  confers.  We  have  the 
life  that  belongs  to  our  nature,  but  not  the  super- 
natural life  to  which  nature  had  been  generously 
elevated.  Nor  are  we  simply  as  though .  w^e  had 
never  been  raised  to  the  supernatural  life.     We  are 

« C.  Trent.  Sess.  V.,  Can.  3. 


166  CHRIST  OUR  HIGH  PRIEST 

like  children  who  have  been  bereft  of  an  inheritance 
by  the  folly  of  their  ancestors.  After  being  des- 
tined by  God  for  a  supernatural  end,  human  na- 
ture is  robbed  by  man  of  the  means  to  that  end. 
The  inheritance  has  been  squandered  by  our  com- 
mon father.  The  sin  of  the  father  is  visited  upon 
the  children.  The  children  of  Adam  are  conceived 
in  the  state  of  original  sin.^  And  to  original  sin, 
they  add  their  own  personal  transgressions  of  the 
divine  law. 

Original  sin  does  not  consist  in  concupiscence; 
nor  in  disharmony  between  reason  and  sense;  nor 
in  bodily  death  or  affliction;  nor  in  total  depravity 
of  our  human  nature;  nor  in  a  mere  imputation  to 
us  of  Adam's  sin.  Though  it  impaired,  original  sin 
did  not  efface  in  man  the  natural  image  of  God. 
However  weakened,  human  nature  is  intrinsically 
the  same. 

Original  sin  is  the  state  of  separation  from  God 
our  supernatural  end ;  or  what  comes  to  the  same,  it 
is  the  privation  of  sanctifying  grace  brought  upon 
Adam's  descendants  by  his  disobedience.  We  may 
consider  sin  as  an  act  and  as  a  state.  As  an  act 
it  may  be  the  work  of  an  instant;  but  the  state  re- 
sulting from  the  act  is  permanent;  and  so  long  as 
man  perseveres  in  this  state  of  sin  he  is  a  sinner. 
The  act  of  Adam  has  become  the  state  of  human  na- 
ture. The  state  is  one  of  separation  from  God  and 
can  be  changed  only  by  a  fresh  gift  of  sanctifying 
grace.  It  is  the  death  of  the  soul  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  sanctifying  grace  is  the  life  of  the  soul. 
.  Had  God  created  Adam  without  sanctifying 
grace,  man's  state  would  not  have  been  a  state  of 
sin.  It  became  a  state  of  sin  by  its  relation  to  the 
sin  of  o^r  first  parents.    Our  ancestors  gave  to  their 

» Many  are  impressed  with  what  they  consider  the  striking  analogy 
between  the  Christiaji  doctrine  of  original  sin  in  the  spiritual  order,  and 
the  doctrine  of  heredity  in  the  physical  and  moral  order. 


THE  REDEMPTION  OF  CHRIST      .  167 

descendants  the  human  nature  that  they  possessed 
and  that  was  human  nature  robbed  by  sin,  of  the 
gift  of  supernatural  life.  So  we  are  born  with  this 
effect  of  original  sin  on  our  personally  innocent 
souls.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  pain  of  sense 
or  positive  punishment  is  connected  with  original 
sin  for  such  as  have  not  committed  personal  sins. 
The  punishment  is  the  loss  of  the  adoption  of  the 
children  of  God  conferred  in  sanctifying  grace,  and 
of  the  right  to  supernatural  bliss  connected  with 
sanctifying  grace.  The  fall  was  from  the  super- 
natural state  to  which,  not  by  its  right,  but  by 
God's  grace,  human  nature  had  been  elevated. 

41.    THE  REDEMPTION  OF  CHRIST. 

*'As  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  this  world  and 
by  sin  death,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men  in 
whom  all  have  sinned.  .  .  .  Therefore  as  by  the 
offense  of  one  unto  all  men  (came  judgment)  to 
condemnation;  so  also  by  the  justice  of  one  (came 
grace)  unto  all  men  to  justification  of  life.  For  as 
by  the  disobedience  of  one  man  many  were  made 
sinners;  so  also  by  the  obedience  of  one  many  shall 
be  made  just.  That  as  sin  hath  reigned  to  death; 
so  also  grace  might  reign  by  justice  unto  life  ever- 
lasting."^ Thus  St.  Paul  speaks  of  man's  fall  in 
Adam  and  redemption  by  Christ. 

God  who  w^as  good  enough  to  give  man  a  woYi- 
derful  nature  and  more  wonderfully  raise  it  to  a 
participation  in  His  own  divine  life,  was  too  merci- 
ful to  abandon  man  in  his  fall.  Even  to  the  stricken 
Adam,  God  gave  the  promise  that  the  priceless 
grace  which  had  been  forfeited,  should  be  re- 
deemed.-    Man  was  of  himself  unable  to  arise  from 

»  Rom.  5,  12-21. 

«Gen.  3,  15;  12,  3;  49,  10;  Deut.  18.  18;  Is.  53,  4-7. 


168  .  CHEIST  OUR  HIGH  PRIEST 

his  fall;  to  atone  for  the  offense  committed  against 
the  Infinite;  or  to  recover  the  sanctifying  grace 
which  was  entirely  above  his  nature  and  the  un- 
merited gift  of  God.  Jesus  Christ  came  in  the  full- 
ness of  time,  as  the  Redeemer.  Uniting  to  His  di- 
vine nature,  the  human  nature  of  the  race  which 
He  was  to  redeem,  Christ  restored  the  order  of  sal- 
vation, offering  Himself  by  His  death  on  the  cross 
as  a  ransom  for  mankind. 

Redemption.  The  reconciliation  of  man  with 
God  might  have  been  effected  without  the  incarna- 
tion of  the  Son  of  God.  The  benevolence  of  God 
could  have  pardoned  man's  offense  without  condign 
satisfaction,  and  restored  him  to  the  supernatural 
state.  Christ  having  come  among  men  might  have 
effected  the  redemption  by  any  act.  The  greatest 
benevolence  of  God  appears  in  this,  that  our  Good 
Shepherd  willed  to  lay  down  His  life  for  His  sheep ; 
Our  Friend  chose  to  show  the  greatest  love  that 
one  friend  can  have  for  another,  by  giving  His  life 
for  His  friends — the  sinners  of  the  world.^ 

**In  Christ,  the  second  Adam,"  says  Spirago, 
*Hhe  head  of  the  human  race  suffered  for  his  mem- 
bers. We  know  by  experience  of  daily  life  that 
vicarious  atonement  is  possible.  Not  only  property, 
but  disgrace  or  glory  may  be  bequeathed  to  poster- 
ity. A  family,  nay,  more  a  whole  nation,  will  be 
proud  of  a  great  man  born  in  their  midst;  and  on 
the  other  hand  nations  are  sometimes  severely  chas- 
tised for  the  sins  of  individuals.  Original  sin  (in 
an  altogether  different  order)  has  become  the  herit- 
age of  humanity.  And  in  like  manner  the  merits 
of  one  may  become  the  heritage  of  all  mankind. 
Christ  is  the  true  Paschal  Lamb,  the  sacrifice  of 
which  did  not  liberate  one  nation  from  the  yoke  of 

*  Theologians  discuss  whether  the  Incarnation  would  have  taken  place 
if  man  had  not  fallen. 


THE  REDEMPTION  OF  CHRIST  169 

Pharaoh,  but  the  whole  human  race  from  the  serv- 
itude of  sin." 

Applied  Through  Sacraments.  It  is  the  will  of 
God  that  all  men  should  be  saved.*  Christ  gave 
Himself  a  redemption  for  all.^  The  son  of  man 
died  for  humanity.  The  death  on  the  cross  was  the 
climax  of  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ.  **If  I  be  raised 
up,"  He  had  said,  *'I  shall  draw  all  to  myself."® 
The  cross  becomes  henceforth  the  symbol  of  salva- 
tion, the  standard  of  the  Christian  faith.  The  mer- 
its of  the  cross  flow  to  men  through  the  sacraments 
which  Christ  instituted  as  means  of  applying  His 
grace  to  the  individual  soul.  Man  cannot  raise 
himself  to  the  supernatural  life.  It  is  the  gift  of 
God.  As  God  wills  our  salvation,  He  stands  ever 
present  ready  to  do  His  part.  The  Sacraments 
work  ex  opcre  operato.  Man  also,  however,  must 
do  his  part.  He  must  work  with  God's  grace.  If 
some  are  lost  it  is  because  they  failed,  by  such  co- 
operation to  make  their  own,  the  salvation  offered 
by  Jesus  Christ.  The  medicine  cannot  produce  its 
effect  unless  the  sick  man  receives  it.  If  the  Sacra- 
ments are  properly  received  they  cannot  fail  of 
their  blessed  effect.  God  is  faithful.  To  bring  the 
benefit  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  cross  into  the  lives  of 
men,  to  communicate  to  them  the  Divine  Spirit  and 
so  unite  them  with  God,  Christ  instituted  the  Seven 
Sacraments  and  left  them  with  the  Church  as  the 
divine  instruments  with  which  she  would  accom- 
plish His  work.  He  entrusted  their  administration 
to  the  ''dispensers  of  the  mysteries  of  God,"^  the 
Apostles  and  their  successoi-s  in  His  priesthood. 

Grace.  To  help  toward  some  understanding  of 
the  Sacraments,  it  is  necessary  to  give  attention  to 

*  I.  Tim.  2,  4. 

»I.  Tim.  2,  6;  II.  Cor.  5,  14;  Rom.  8,  32. 

«John  12,  32. 

'I.  Cor.  4,  1;  XL  Cor.  5,  18-21. 


170  CHRIST  OUR  HIGH  PRIEST 

the  word  *' Grace,"  which  is  continually  employed 
by  writers  on  the  spiritual  life.  The  word  is  used 
in  several  senses.  In  the  widest  sense,  grace  means 
any  gift,  natural  or  supernatural,  bestowed  by 
God's  benevolence.  In  a  stricter  sense,  the  word 
refers  to  supernatural  gifts. 

These  gifts  may  be  either  external  or  internal. 
The  Gospel,  the  miracles,  the  example  of  Christ  are 
external  graces.  A  book,  a  sermon,  a  sickness,  as 
being  occasions  of  grace  are  sometimes  called  ex- 
ternal graces.  Internal  graces  are  the  divine  in- 
fluences which  move  our  souls  preparing  them  for 
the  attainment  of  supernatural  happiness  and  en- 
dowing them  with  supernatural  life.  They  include 
the  supernatural  enlightenment  of  the  mind  and  in- 
spiration of  the  will,  and  other  gifts  bestowed  on 
us  by  God  for  our  supernatural  end,  and  finally 
the  gift  of  supernatural  life  itself.  Grace  in  this 
strictest  ""sense,  is  divided  into  actual  and  sanctify- 
ing grace. 

Actual  Grace.  Actual  grace  consists  in  the  super- 
natural enlightenment  of  the  understanding  and 
inspiration  of  the  will,  to  shun  what  is  evil  and  to 
will  and  do  what  is  good.  It  is  called  actual  be- 
cause it  is  not  a  permanent  quality,  but  an  act  of 
help, — a  transient  divine  influence  upon  the  soul. 
These  transient  graces  do  not  themselves  sanctify 
us.  If  we  cooperate  with  them  they  prepare  us 
for  sanctifying  grace.  They  arouse  or  solicit  our 
natural  faculties  to  do  good  and  avoid  evil;  or  they 
aid  the^  will  in  its  free  resolve ;  or  they  strengthen 
the  will  in  the  execution  of  its  good  purposes. 
Grace  is  necessary  to  everything  that  is  profitable 
to  our  eternal  salvation.  God  gives  sufficient  grace 
to  all  men.  Grace  does  not  impair  the  freedom  of 
man's  will,  and  may  be  rendered  inefficacious  by 
man's  will. 


THE  REDEMPTION  OF  CHRIST  171 

Sanctifying  Grace.  Sanctifying  grace  is  an  in- 
ward gift  communicated  by  God  to  the  soul,  in 
virtue  of  which  man  is  made  holy  and  pleasing  to 
God,  a  child  of  God  and  an  heir  of  Heaven.  It  is 
also  called  habitual  grace,  because  it  is  an  abiding 
quality.  When  endowed  with  it  we  are  in  the  state 
of  grace.  By  sanctifying  grace  fallen  man  is  raised 
again  from  the  death  of  siil  to  supernatural  life. 
He  receives  internal  justification  and  regeneration. 
The  Holy  Spirit,  together  with  the  virtues  of  faith, 
hope  and  charity  are  communicated  to  the  soul.  In 
sanctifying  grace,  **the  charity  of  God  is  poured 
forth  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  who  is  given 
to  us."®  The  Holy  Ghost  dwells  in  us,  as  in  a  tem- 
ple.^ The  supernatural  union  with  God  begun  on 
earth  in  the  gift  of  sanctifying  grace,  unless  de- 
stroyed by  man,  will  continue  for  all  eternity.       « 

Channels  of  Grace.  The  Sacraments  give  sancti- 
fying grace  or  increase  it  in  the  soul.  Baptism  and 
Penance  are  sometimes  called  the  Sacraments  of  the 
dead  because  they  may  be  received  by  those  who 
are  spiritually  dead  by  sin,  to  whom  they  then  give 
supernatural  life.  Confirmation,  Holy  Eucharist, 
Holy  Orders,  Matrimony  and  Extreme  Unction  are 
called  the  Sacraments  of  the  living  because  they 
presuppose  the  existence  of  supernatural  life  in  the 
soul.  The  Sacraments  increase  sanctifying  grace  in 
souls  in  which  it  already  exists.  As  each  Sacrament 
was  instituted  for  a  particular  end,  besides  sancti- 
fying grace  each  confers  its  own  special  effect  which 
is  called  sacramental  grace.  Baptism,  Confirmation 
and  Holy  Orders  produce  an  indelible  character  on 
the  soul  and  can  be  received  only  once. 

Atonement.  The  redemption  is  as  inscrutable  a 
mystery  as  the  personality  of  the  Redeemer.  The 
syllables  of  the  word  atonement  make  at-one-ment. 

•Rom.  5,  5.  •!.  Cor.  2,  4. 


172  CHRIST  OUR  HIGH  PRIEST 

'*Why,  according  to  our  faith/'  says  a  Jesuit 
writer/^  ''did  the  Eternal  Word  come  down  and 
adopt  our  human  nature?  To  vindicate  the  injured 
honor  of  God,  say  some.  To  open  Heaven  to  sin- 
ners, say  others.  They  mean  the  same.  For  what 
is  the  injury  done  to  God?  That  He  is  not  loved! 
Why  is  Heaven  closed  to  sinners?  Because  they  do 
not  love  God!  The  one  thing  that  the  Creator 
wished  from  the  beginning  was  to  be  loved.  This 
is  the  glory  of  God,  the  expression  has  no  other 
meaning.     God  is  love. 

''His  love  for  Himself  in  His  interior  glory — His 
eternal  life.  ^  This  is  life,  to  love.  This  is  true  life 
for  creatures,  to  love  their  Creator.  It  is  this  we 
mean  when  we  speak  of  the  external  glory  of  God. 
The  happiness  of  the  three  Divine  Persons  comes 
from  the  enjoyment  of  that  charity  which  makes 
them  one.  Happiness  for  a  created  intellectual  be- 
ing is  knowing  God,  to  love  Him.  Therefore  the 
glory  of  God  and  our  happiness  is  one  and  the  same 
thing,  that  we  should  possess  the  joy  of  knowing 
and  loving  God.  Therefore  again  the  generosity  of 
the  Second  Person  of  the  most  Blessed  Trinity  was 
especially  admirable  and  kind,  because  He  so  ele- 
vated our  helpless  nature  as  to  render  back  to  it  the 
capacity  for  love." 

"  D.  A.  Merrick,  S.  J.  Messenger,  Dec.  1901,  p.  1099. 


CHAPTER  X. 

BAPTISM 
42.    BAPTISM— THE  CHRISTIAN'S  BIRTH. 

As  Adam  is  our  natural  parent  and  we  owe  to  him 
our  natural  life ;  so  Christ  is  our  supernatural  father 
and  to  Him  we  owe  our  supernatural  life.  Through 
Baptism  we  are  born  again;  born  into  the  family  of 
the  second  Adam.  Through  this  laver  of  regenera- 
tion, the  Redeemer  restores  us  to  the  supernatural 
state  lost  by  sin.  In  the  words  of  Christ,  sanctify- 
ing grace  with  its  raising  of  man  to  a  supernatural 
union  with  God,  is  described  as  the  gift  of  a  new 
life.  The  man  receiving  from  Christ  the  inheritance 
of  grace  lost  in  Adam  and  redeemed  in  the  Savior, 
is  "born  again.''  At  the  entrance  of  His  Kingdom 
stands  the  sacrament  of  Baptism  through  which  the 
soul,  void  of  the  life  of  grace,  is  born  into  the  divine 
life  of  Christ's  adopted  family. 

Spiritual  Birth.  All  that  the  Church  teaches  con- 
cerning Baptism  is  outlined  in  the  words  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  Nicodemus :  ^ 

''And  there  was  a  man  of  the  Pharisees  named 
Nicodemus,  a  ruler  of  the  people.  This  man  came 
to  Jesus  by  night  and  said  to  Him :  'Rabbi,  we  know 
that  thou  art  come  a  teacher  of  God,  for  no  man  can 
do  these  things  thou  dost,  unless  God  is  with  him.' 
Jesus  answered  and  said  to  him :  'Amen,  amen,  I  say 
to  thee,  unless  a  man  is  born  again,  he  cannot  enter 
the   Kingdom   of   God.'     Nicodemus   said   to   Him: 

»John  3,  1-6. 

173 


174  BAPTISM 

'How  can  a  man  be  born  again  when  he  is  old? 
Can  he  enter  a  second  time  into  his  mother's  womb 
and  be  born  again?'  Jesus  answered:  'Amen, 
amen,  I  say  to  thee,  unless  one  be  born  again  of 
water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  cannot  enter  the  King- 
dom of  God.  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is 
flesh;  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit,  is 
spirit.'  " 

The  last  command  of  the  Master  to  His  Apostles 
was :  ^  ' '  Going  therefore,  teach  ye  all  nations ;  bap- 
tizing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the 
Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  ''He  that  believeth 
and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved." 

Apostolic  Practice.  The  Apostles  and  early  Chris- 
tians have  left  ample  evidence  of  the  faith  and  prac- 
tice of  the  primitive  Church,  concerning  this  sacra- 
ment. To  them  it  was  the  channel  bringing  from 
the  cross  to  the  individual  soul  the  living  waters  of 
redemption.  It  was  the  font  for  washing  away  the 
leprosy  of  sin.  And  it  was  the  birth  of  the  soul 
into  the  supernatural  life.  All  must  receive  Bap- 
tism. For  were  not  all  sinners  ?  The  adult  labored 
under  his  personal  transgressions ;  the  personally  in- 
nocent child  under  original  sin.  All  were  children 
of  Adam.  For  all,  the  grace  once  lost  must  be  re- 
deemed. The  second  Adam  came  for  all.  Through 
Baptism,  sin  that  kills  the  soul — original  sin  in  all; 
personal  sin  in  the  actual  sinners — ^is  destroyed. 
Through  Baptism  men  are  born  into  the  family  of 
the  Christian  Church  and  into  the  spiritual  life. 

So  we  flnd  the  Apostles  baptizing.  "Repent  and 
be  baptized  everyone  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  for  the  remission  of  your  sins  and  you  shall 
receive  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost. ' '  ^  Thus  cried 
St.  Peter  on  the  first  Pentecost,  when  the  Apostles 
baptized  thousands.     "Rise  up  and  be  baptized,  and 

»Mt.  28,   19;   Mk.  16,   16.  ^Act.   2,   38. 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  BIRTH  175 

wash  away  thy  sius  invoking  His  name,"*  was 
the  message  of  the  humble  priest  who  baptized 
the"  future  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  and  was  the  in- 
strument of  God's  grace  in  transforming  Saul  of 
Tarsus  into  St.  Paul.  Again  when  Philip  found 
that  the  Eunuch  of  Candace,  in  whose  chariot  he 
was  riding,  was  properly  disposed,  he  baptized  him 
as  soon  as  they  came  to  some  water  along  the  road.* 

Necessity  of  Baptism.  St.  Paul  explains  the  mo- 
tive of  this  zeal,  in  the  doctrine:  "He  (Christ) 
saved  us  by  the  laver  of  regeneration,  and  renova- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  He  hath  poured  forth 
upon  us  abundantly."* 

The  Church  has  always  held  that  Baptism  is  not 
merely  a  symbol  of  the  supernatural  life,  but  the 
channel  that  conveys  it  to  the  soul.  In  Baptism  we 
receive  sanctifying  grace.  Actual  graces  may  pre- 
pare us  for  Baptism  and  lead  us  to  the  sacred  font. 
But  if  we  mistake  these  calls  of  grace  and  to  grace, 
for  the  possession  in  ourselves  of  the  grace  of  sancti- 
fication,  we  deceive  ourselves.  Nicodemus  came  be- 
lieving in  Christ  and  anxious  to  be  His  disciple :  and 
to  him  the  Master  said:  "Unless  one  be  born  again 
of  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  cannot  enter  the 
Kingdom  of  God."  Actual  graces  w^ere  drawing 
Nicodemus  to  the  grace  of  sanctification.  Could  he 
reach  that  state  by  neglecting  the  means  ordained 
by  God?  Even  after  Saul  was  struck  by  the  blind- 
ing light,  the  disciple  sent  to  him  by  God,  said : 
"Rise  up  and  be  baptized  and  wash  away  thy  sins." 
When  St.  Paul  found  disciples  at  Ephesus,  who  had 
been  baptized  only  with  John's  baptism  of  repent- 
ance, though  they  already  believed  in  Christ,  the 
great  Apostle  judged  it  necessary  to  baptize  them 
with  the  Christian  sacrament,  as  a  means  of  their 
receiving  the  Holy  Ghost.^ 

«Act.  22,  16.  'Act.  8,  36-37.  "Tit.  3,  5.  'Act.  19,  2-5. 


176  BAPTISM 

Baptism  of  Blood.  The  sacrament  of  Baptism  is 
the  ordinary  channel  of  spiritual  life,  and  for  those 
who  know  it  and  can  receive  it,  it  is  a  necessary 
means  of  salvation.  For  those  who  have  not  been 
able  to  receive  the  Baptism  of  water,  and  indeed 
perhaps  never  heard  of  it,  the  Christian  sacrament 
may  be  supplied  by  the  Baptism  of  blood  or  of 
desire. 

"He  that  shall  lose  his  life  for  me,  shall  find  it,"  ^ 
says  Jesus  Christ.  The  innocents  of  Bethlehem 
were  baptized  in  their  own  blood,  as  were  also  those 
early  Christians  who  before  coming  to  the  laver  of 
regeneration,  were  called  upon  to  die  as  martyrs 
for  the  Christian  faith. 

Baptism  of  Desire.  Baptism  of  desire  is,  in  a 
word,  an  act  of  perfect  love  of  God ;  including  there- 
fore, however  implicitly,  the  will  to  do  all  that 
God  has  ordained  for  salvation.  ''Every  one  that 
loveth  is  born  of  God  and  knoweth  God. ' '  ^  We  may 
trust  that  even  among  the  pagans  there  are  some 
souls  who  live  according  to  the  light  that  is  given 
them.  It  is  by  this  measure  that  they  will  be 
judged.  We  may  suppose  souls  who  conform  their 
will  to  the  will  of  God  and  implicitly  embrace  His 
law  though  they  have  little  explicit  knowledge  of  it. 
They  would  be  Christians  and  baptized  gladly,  if 
they  knew  that  God  so  willed.  God  can  give  such 
souls  even  a  knowledge  of  His  revelation,  that  they 
may  make  a  supernatural  act  of  faith.  Such  souls 
may  be  united  with  God  by  the  Baptism  of  desire. 

No  Salvation  Outside  the  Church.  Baptism  of 
desire  does  not  make  one  a  member  of  the  body  of 
the  Church  nor  capable  of  receiving  the  other  sac- 
raments, until  sacramental  Baptism  has  been  ad- 
ministered. It  unites  one  with  the  soul  of  the 
Church.     It  effects  the  internal  communion  with  the 

•Mt.  10,  39.  'I.  John  4,   7;  John  14,  21-23. 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  BIRTH  177 

Church,  consisting  in  the  desire  (albeit  implicit)  of 
being  externally  united  with  it,  which  is  an  indis- 
pensable means  of  salvation.  One  must  bear  in 
mind  the  different  kinds  of  imion  with  the  Church, 
in  order  to  understand  the  truth,  that  outside  of  the 
Church  there  is  no  salvation.  Those  who  would  be 
saved  must  have  the  will  to  do  all  that  God  has 
ordained  for  salvation — consequently  the  desire  of 
being  a  member  of  His  true  Church.  If  one  who 
professes  a  false  religion  is  saved,  he  is  saved  not 
through  his  false  religion,  but  only  inasmuch  as  he 
is  (however  unconsciously)  a  member  of  the  true 
Church.  Christians  who  through  no  fault  of  their 
own,  are  separated  by  heresy  or  schism  from  the 
body  of  the  Church,  may  be  in  the  soul  of  the 
Church.  The  will  to  do  all  that  God  has  ordained 
for  salvation  is  compatible  with  external  but  uncon- 
scious separation  from  the  Church ;  therefore  one 
who  is  in  error  through  invincible  ignorance  (bona 
fide)  is  capable  of  perfect  contrition.  The  case  is 
different  with  him  who  is  knowingly  in  error  (mala 
fide)  so  long  as  he  pei^ists  in  thus  acting  against  his 
conscience. 

Infant  Baptism.  Christ  says:  ''Suffer  little 
children  to  come  to  me,  and  hinder  them  not.'*  The 
Christian  -Church  gives  her  children  the  benefit  of 
Baptism  as  soon  as  possible.  They  are  born  into 
their  natural  life  as  children  of  Adam  and  heirs  to 
his  legacy  of  sin.  Shall  they  not  be  born  into  the 
spiritual  life  as  children  of  Christ  and  heirs  to  His 
inheritance  of  grace  ?  ^^  However  innocent  it  may 
be  personally,  the  child  is  born  without  the  grace  of 
supernatural  life.  Through  Baptism  it  receives  that 
life.  It  is  the  duty  of  parents  to  make  sure  that 
the  priceless  inheritance  redeemed  by  Christ  is  se- 
cured to  the  child.     A  mother  would  not  neglect  a 

"Tit.   3,   5-7. 


178  BAPTISM 

fortune  left  to  her  infant  son,  till  he  would  grow  up 
and  care  for  it  himself.  The  fact  that  a  very  large 
per  cent,  of  human  beings  die  in  their  childhood  is  a 
special  reason  why  parents  should  make  sure  that 
their  children  are  raised  by  Baptism  to  the  super- 
natural life. 

Repentance  of  their  persoiial  sins  disposes  the 
adults  to  receive  Baptism  worthily.  To  them  are 
addressed  the  words:  ^'Repent  and  be  baptized/' 
''Believe  and  be  baptized.''  But  the  repentance  is 
not  the  baptism.  Baptism  is  a  gift  of  God:  and 
God  can  bestow  this  gift  upon  the  unconscious  babe 
as  surely  as  He  can  bless  it  with  natural  life.  St. 
Paul  doubtless  included  children  as  well  as  adults 
when  he  baptized  whole  families :  ^^  his  prison- 
keeper  "and  all  his";  Lydia  "and  her  household"; 
"the  household  of  Stephanas." 

Origen,  St.  Augustine,  St.  Cyprian  and  other 
Fathers,  clearly  testify  to  the  practice  of  infant  Bap- 
tism in  the  first  centuries  of  Christianity.  Christian 
parents,  knowing  that  their  child  was  born  in  orig- 
inal sin  and  mindful  of  Christ's  words:  "Unless 
one  be  born  again  of  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  he 
cannot  enter  the  Kingdom  of  God,"  endeavor  to 
present  the  little  ones  at  the  font  of  Baptism  as 
promptly  as  the  Jews  consecrated  their  sons  in  the 
covenant  of  circumcision.^^ 

Children  who  die  without  baptism  are  not  con- 
demned to  the  fire«  of  hell.  It  is  the  common  teach- 
ing of  theologians,  including  St.  Thomas,  that  in 
eternity  they  will  enjoy  such  union  with  God  and 
consequent  happiness  as  nature  is  capable  of:  but 
never  having  been  raised  above  nature,  they  are 
incapable  of  the  supernatural  union  which  makes 
possible  the  enjoyment  of  the  Beatific  Vision.     St. 

"Act.  16,  33;  16,  15;  I.  Cor.  1,  16. 

"Gen.  17,  9-14;  Luke  1,  59;  2,  21.     When  8  days  old. 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  BIRTH  179 

Thomas  teaches  that  they  are  not  saddened  by  this 
loss:  either  because  they  are  unconscious  of  it;  or 
because  they  realize  that  no  injustice  is  done  them, 
since  they  are  not  deprived  of  anything  to  which 
their  nature  had  a  right.  The  opinion  that  God 
gives  such  infants  a  Baptism  of  Grace  in  some  ex- 
traordinary way,  while  put  forth  by  some  theo- 
logians,^^ is  not  the  common  belief. 

How  to  Baptize.  While  the  priest  is  the  ordinary 
minister  of  Baptism,  anyone  can  baptize  validly,  and 
in  case  of  necessity  should  do  so.  Having  the  in- 
tention of  doing  what  Christ  ordained,  pour  com- 
mon water  on  the  head  or  face  of  the  one  to  be  bap- 
tized and  while  pouring  it  say  the  words :  I  baptize 
thee  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.^*  Baptism  is  administered  val- 
idly by  immersion,  by  sprinkling  or  by  pouring  the 
water.  The  last  named  mode  is  the  discipline  of 
the  western  Church  at  the  present  time,  perhaps  as 
being  best  suited  to  our  climate.  Certain  sectaries 
insist  on  immersion  as  the  only  way  of  giving  Bap- 
tism— even  more  sometimes  than  they  insist  on  the 
necessity  of  the  Baptism  itself.  Their  years  of 
fruitless  controversy  about  the  manner  of  baptizing 
should  teach  them  that  the  supreme  court  of  the 
Church  left  by  Christ  as  the  teacher  of  His  religion, 
is  the  only  authority  competent  to  settle  the  matter. 

Ceremonies.  The  first  care  of  the  Church  is  for 
the  valid  administration  of  tjie  sacrament.  This  se- 
cured, she  surrounds  its  solemn  reception  with  ap- 
propriate ceremonies.  The  font  in  the  baptistery, 
— generally  at  the  door  of  the  Church,  is  supplied 
with  water  and  blessed  at  Easter  and  Pentecost.  To 
oach  one  presenting  himself  for  Baptism,  the  priest 
says:  "What  dost  thou  ask  of  the  Church  of 
God?"     Answer:     "Faith." 

"  Breen,   Exposit.  of  Gospels,  V.  I.,  p.  394. 
"Mt.    28,    19. 


180  BAPTISM 

Priest:  ''To  what  doth  Faith  bring  thee?"  An- 
swer:    "To  life  everlasting." 

Priest:  "If  therefore  thou  wilt  enter  int-o  life, 
keep  the  commandments.  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul, 
and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself. ' ' 

The  tongue  is  touched  with  a  little  salt,  the  sym- 
bol of  wisdom  and  of  preservation  from  corruption. 
The  Lord's  Prayer  and  Apostles'  Creed  are  recited. 
Exorcisms  are  repeated  and  Satan  and  all  his  works 
and  pomps  are  renounced.  These  baptismal  vows 
are  made  for  the  child  by  its  sponsors  or  God-par- 
ents, who  pledge  themselves  to  look  to  the  child's 
Christian  training  should  the  parents  neglect  it  or 
die.  The  name  of  a  saint  is  generally  given  to  the 
child.  Thus  a  Christian  hero  will  henceforth  be  its 
model  and  patron. 

Finally  the  new  heir  to  the  Kingdom  of  God  is 
anointed  with  chrism;  and  covered  with  a  white 
cloth  symbolic  of  the  soul's  robe  of  sanctifying 
grace:  "Receive  this  white  garment  which  mayest 
thou  bear  without  stain  before  the  judgment  seat  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  thou  mayest  have  life 
everlasting. ' ' 

A  lighted  candle,  symbolic  of  the  light  of  faith,  is 
given  him  with  the  words:  "Receive  this  burning 
light  and  keep  thy  Baptism  so  as  to  be  without 
blame :  Keep  the  commandments  of  God,  that  when 
the  Lord  shall  come  to  the  nuptials,  thou  mayest 
meet  Him,  together  with  all  the  saints  in  the  heav- 
-enly  court  and  mayest  have  eternal  life  and  live  for- 
ever and  ever.  Go  in  peace,  and  the  Lord  be  with 
thee.     Amen." 

Conditional  Baptism.  As  Baptism  can  be  received 
but  once,  it  is  not  repeated  in  the  reception  of  con- 
verts who  are  validly  baptized  outside  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church.    If  there  is  room  for  doubt  about  the 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  BIRTH  181 

validity  of  such  a  Baptism,  for  safety's  sake  the 
sacrament  is  administered  conditionally. 

Churching.  It  is  the  custom  for  Catholic  moth- 
ers to  come  to  Church  as  soon  as  possible  after  child- 
birth, to  thank  God  for  His  goodness  and  to  ask  His 
blessing  on  themselves  and  their  children.  These 
are  the  sentiments  of  the  blessing  read  by  the 
priests  on  the  occasion.  This  benediction  is  popu- 
larly called  ** Churching.'* 


CHAPTER  XI 

CONFIRMATION 

43.     CONFIRMATION— THE  CHRISTIAN 
SOLDIER. 

Life  is  a  battle.  This  is  true  especially  of  the 
moral  life.  The  religion  of  Christ  aims  to  prepare 
the  young  Christian  to  make  it  a  winning  fight. 
After  years  of  training  in  home  and  school  and 
Church,  the  individual  who  was  born  into  the  King- 
dom^f  Christ  by  Baptism,  is  now  no  longer  a  child. 
Grown  to  youth  and  to  the  consciousness  of  his  re- 
lations and  responsibilities  to  God  and  fellowman, 
the  Christian  must  face  his  battle  of  life.  This 
turning  point  in  life  the  Church  meets  with  the 
Sacrament  of  Confirmation. 

Confirmation  is  a  complement  to  Baptism.  The 
promises  made  in  the  name  of  the  child  by  his  spon- 
sors in  Baptism,  he  now  renews  for  himself.  He 
professes  the  faith  of  Christ  and  renounces  Satan 
and  all  his  works  and  pomps. 

Rite.  Confirmation  is  administered  by  the 
Bishop.  He  extends  his  hands  over  all  who  are  to 
be  confirmed  and  prays  for  them  all,  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  may  come  upon  them;  then  he  lays  his  hand 
upon  each  one  in  particular  and  anoints  him,  saying : 
*'I  sign  thee  with  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  and  I  anoint 
thee  with  the  chrism  of  salvation,  in  the  name  of 
the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

The  Holy  Chrism  is  olive  oil  and  balsam  blessed 
by  the  Bishop.  The  oil  is  the  sign  of  strength:  the 
balsam  is  a  symbol  of  preservation  from  corruption 

182 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER  183 

and  of  the  sweet  odor  of  virtue.  Like  David  the 
young  Christian  rejoicing  in  his  strength,  can  say: 
*'  Thou  hast  anointed  my  head  with  oil." 

The  athlete  entering  the  contests  in  former  times, 
was  rubbed  with  oil  to  give  him  the  strength  and 
activity  that  mean  victory.  The  oil  with  which  his 
brow  is  anointed,  signifies  the  inward  strength  which 
the  young  Christian  receives  for  the  combat  against 
the  enemies  of  salvation.  The  sign  of  the  Cross 
made  by  the  Bishop  on  the  forehead,  intimates  that 
the  Christian  must  never  be  ashamed  of  the  Cross, 
but  boldly  profess  his  faith  in  Jesus  crucified.  The 
Bishop  gives  the  youth  a  slight  blow  on  the  cheek 
to  remind  him  that  he  may  have  to  suffer  even 
blows  for  his  faith.  "While  not  absolutely  necessary 
for  salvation.  Confirmation  could  not  be  willfully 
neglected  without  fault,  especially  as  it  is  a  sacra- 
ment coming  to  youth  at  an  age  (generally  in  our 
country  about  the  15th  year)  when  he  stands  in  pe- 
culiar need  of  the  light  and  strength  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

Apostolic  Practice.  Pope  St.  Melchiades  (d.  311) 
writes : 

*'In  Baptism  the  Christian  is  enlisted  into  the 
service;  in  Confirmation  he  is  equipped  for  battle. 
At  the  Baptismal  font  the  Holy  Ghost  imparts  the 
plenitude  of  innocence;  in  Confirmation  the  perfec- 
tion of  grace.  In  Baptism  we  are  regenerated  to 
life;  after  Baptism  we  are  fortified  for  the  combat. 
In  Baptism  we  are  cleansed ;  in  Confirmation  we  are 
strengthened.  Regeneration  saves  those  who  re- 
ceive Baptism  in  peace ;  Confirmation  arms  and  pre- 
pares for  the  conflict."  The  early  Fathers  call  this 
Sacrament:  Confirmation  or  Strengthening,  Sealing, 
Unction,  Chrism,  Mystery  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  *'The 
Sacrament  of  Chrism,"  says  St.  Augustine,  *'is  just 
as  holy  as  Baptism." 


184  CONFIRMATION 

In  Confirmation  the  Holy  Ghost  increases  sancti- 
fying grace  in  the  soul  and  matures  its  supernatural 
life.  The  Spirit  of  God  confirmed  the  Disciples  on 
the  first  Pentecost/  These  Apostles  and  Disciples 
were  already  Christians,  endowed  with  the  super- 
natural life  of  grace.  The  Holy  Ghost  came  with 
special  gifts  to  strengthen  them  to  work  unto  their 
own  salvation  and  for  the  conversion  of  others.  We 
read  of  the  Apostles  administering  this  Sacrament 
of  Confirmation:^  ''When  the  Apostles  who  were 
in  Jerusalem  heard  that  Samaria  had  received  the 
word  of  God,  they  sent  unto  them  Peter  and  John. 
Who,  when  they  were  come,  prayed  for  them  that 
they  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost.  For  He  was  not 
yet  come  upon  any  of  them ;  but  they  were  only  bap- 
tized in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Then  they  laid 
their  hands  on  them,  and  they  received  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

The  disciples  at  Ephesus  were  baptized  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  And  when  Paul  .had  im- 
posed his  hands  oi;i  them,  the  Holy  Ghost  came  upon 
them.^ 

Paul  says:  *'He  that  hath  confirmed  us  with  you 
in  Christ,  and  hath  anointed  us,  is  God;  who  also 
hath  sealed  us  and  given  the  pledge  of  the  Spirit  in 
our  hearts. ' '  * 

Gifts  and  Fruits.  The  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
are  told  us  by  Isaiah.^  ' '  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall 
rest  upon  him.  The  Spirit  of  Wisdom,  and  of  Un- 
derstanding; the  Spirit  of  Counsel,  and  of  Forti- 
tude ;  the  Spirit  of  Knowledge,  and  of  Piety,  and  the 
Spirit  of  the  Fear  of  the  Lord.'* 

St.  Paul  tells  us  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit :  ®  ' '  Char- 
ity, Joy,  Peace,  Patience,  Benignity,  Goodness,  Long- 
suffering,  Mildness,  Faith,  Modesty,  Continency, 
Chastity." 

lAct.   1.  'Act.  19,  5-6.  »Is.  11,  2. 

»Act.  8,  14-17.  *II.  Cor.  1,   21-22.  "Gal.  5,  22-23. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST— THE 
CHRISTIAN'S  WORSHIP 

44.     THE  CHRISTIAN'S  DAY  OF  REST. 

Week  after  week,  all  through  life,  the  Sunday 
brings  to  the  Christian  a  day  of  rest  from  the  labor 
of  earning  his  bread ;  a  day  of  social  life  with  fam- 
ily and  friends ;  a  day  of  opportunity  for  the  mind ; 
and  a  day  when  the  soul  renews  itself,  in  a  special 
way,  in  life-giving  communion  with  its  God.  Sun- 
day is  a  day  of  bodily  rest  and  of  divine  worship. 
The  Christian's  public  worship  centers  around  the 
Holy  Eucharist. 

God's  Law.  Our  labor  unions  exert  their  influ- 
ence to  keep  for  the  workingman  his  weekly  holiday. 
Ages  before  labor  unions  existed,  the  Great  Father 
gave  to  His  children  that  weekly  day  of  rest  and 
safe-guarded  it  with  the  sanction  of  law.  The  Dec- 
alogue says:  ^  "Remember  that  thou  keep  holy  the 
Sabbath  day.  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and  shalt  do 
all  thy  works.  But  on  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath 
of  the  Lord  thy  God.  Thou  shalt  do  no  work  on  it ; 
thou  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  nor  thy  man- 
servant, nor  thy  maid-servant,  nor  thy  ox,  nor  thy 
ass,  nor  any  of  thy  beasts,  nor  the  stranger  that  is 
within  thy  gates."  Even  the  poor  dumb  beasts  are 
remembered  as  needing  respite  from  the  yoke  of 

»Ex.  20,  8-11;  Deut.  5,   12-15. 

185 


186  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

toil.  When  the  Pharisees  misunderstood  the  mean- 
ing of  the  day  of  rest,  and  would  turn  it  into  a 
burden  instead  of  a  blessing,  Jesus  Christ  said :  ^ 
**The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  not  man  for  the 
Sabbath:  therefore  the  Son  of  Man  is  Lord  also  of 
the  Sabbath/' 

Christian  Sabbath.  Sunday  is  the  Sabbath  of 
the  New  Law,  as  Saturday  was  the  day  observed 
by  the  Jews.  This  change  was  inspired  by  the  Lord 
of  the  Sabbath.  The  Resurrection  of  Christ  on  Sun- 
day, and  the  Pentecostal  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
upon  the  Church  on  Sunday,  are  by  the  Christian 
Sabbath  commemorated  as  the  completion  of  the 
new  and  better  spiritual  creation. 

Finding  the  early  Christians  celebrating  Sunday 
as  the  weekly  holy  day  of  the  Church,  the  Emperor 
Constantine,  upon  his  conversion  (312),  made  it  also 
the  legal  holiday  of  the  empire.  All  Christian 
states  have  made  Sunday  a  legal  holiday.  In  their 
mad  opposition  to  everything  Christian,  the  leaders 
of  the  French  Revolution  abolished  Sunday  and 
made  every  tenth  day  the  national  day  of  rest. 
This  new  arrangement  was  soon  abandoned.  Ten 
days  were  found  to  be  too  long  an  unbroken  stretch 
for  men  and  beasts  generally  to  labor.  It  may  be 
said  then,  that  this  commandment,  like  the  rest  of 
the  Decalogue,  is  really  founded  upon  the  laws  of 
nature  itself.  As  the  Catholic  Church  teaches  that 
it  is  a  moral  duty  binding  in  conscience,  to  observe 
this  commandment,  when  at  all  possible,  by  absti- 
nence from  servile  work  and  by  attendance  at  the 
divine  service  of  Mass,  America  owes  to  her  an  in- 
calculable debt  for  the  quiet  and  good  order  of 
our  Sundays. 

Day  of  Soul.  While  Sunday  is  a  day  of  rest,  the 
imperative  of  the  commandment  is  that  the  Sabbath 

*Mk.   2,   27. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  EUCHARIST  187 

be  kept  holy.  Man  is  to  rest  from  servile  work  that 
he  may  attend  to  the  worship  of  God.  The  Sunday 
is  the  day  of  the  soul.  The  Christian  goes  to 
Church.  There  he  learns  the  meaning  of  his  life; 
the  moral  relations  of  man  to  God  and  fellowman; 
the  destiny  and  duty  and  consequent  dignity  of 
each  human  soul.  In  his  Father's  house,  he  beholds 
together  rich  and  poor,  high  and  low,  employer  and 
employe,  master  and  man.  All  kneel  at  the  altar 
as  equals,  for  all  are  equally  great  and  small  before 
their  common  God. 

The  Church  is  God's  school  of  life.  It  is  the  only 
school  that  teaches  men  the  lessons  that  are  most 
important  for  the  individual  and  society.  Take  the 
Church  out  of  the  world  for  the  past  thousand  years, 
and  the  very  name  of  Jesus  Christ  would  be  all  but 
forgotten.  His  influence  which  to-day  is  the  inspira- 
tion of  hundreds  of  millions  of  humble  lives,  would 
be  a  memory  recalled  only  by  the  scholar  in  his  li- 
brary. 

As  the  Sunday  is  more  than  a  day  of  rest,  the 
Sunday  service  is  more  than  a  school  of  religion. 
Important  as  these  two  elements  are,  they  are  but 
preparatory  to  something  greater,  as  the  words  we 
have  written  about  them  are  but  an  introduction  to 
the  chapter  on  the  Holy  Eucharist,  the  Sacrament 
around  which  centers  the  Christian  Worship. 

45.     CHRIST'S  PRESENCE  IN  THE  HOLY 
EUCHARIST. 

The  stranger  attending  the  morning  service  in  a 
Catholic  Church,  sees  a  priest  dressed  in  unusual 
robes  officiating  at  an  altar.  On  the  altar  is  a 
Chalice — ^^a  gold  or  silver  cup.  There  is  also  a  pre- 
cious.metal  plate  or  paten,  with  unleavened  bread. 
The  priest  pours  wine  and  water  into  the  Chalice 


188  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

from  cruets  brought  to  him  by  his  assistants.  There 
are  prayers  read  or  sung.  There  is  mysterious  si- 
lence. Toward  the  end  of  the  service,  people  ap- 
proach the  altar  and  reverently  kneel  at  the  com- 
munion railing.  From  the  altar,  the  priest  carries 
to  them  the  sacred  cup.  From  it  he  places  some- 
thing on  the  tongue  of  each  communicant.  The 
stranger  is  told  that  this  service  is  the  Mass  and 
that  these  people  have  received  our  divine  Lord  in 
Holy  Communion.  He  may  well  ask  what  is  the 
meaning  and  origin  of  these  mysterious  rites. 

In  his  Apocalypse,  St.  John  writes :  ^  *'I  saw  seven 
golden  candlesticks  and  in  the  midst  of  the  seven 
candlesticks,  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  Man,  clothed 
with  a  garment  down  to  the  foot.''  Among  the 
seven  sacraments  the  Holy  Eucharist  is  called  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  It  is  the  incomparable  gift  of 
God,  that  this  Great  Sacrament  is,  in  all  truth,  the 
Son  of  Man,  Jesus  Christ,  remaining  with  us  as  our 
spiritual  food,  even  though  He  be  clothed  from  head 
to  foot  and  hidden  from  our  bodily  eyes,  under  the 
appearances  of  bread  and  wine.  To  take  part  in 
this  Eucharistic  Mystery,  which  we  call  the  Mass, 
the  Church  summons  her  children  to  her  altar  on 
Sunday  morning.  The  Mass  is  the  form  of  public 
worship  instituted  by  Jesus  Christ. 

Breaidng  of  Bread.  As  we  read  the  New  Testa- 
ment, we  find  after  the  death  of  Christ,  that  His  dis- 
ciples repeatedly  engaged  in  a  sacred  service  to 
which  they  refer  as  the  *' Breaking  of  Bread.'' 
They  were  persevering  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Apos- 
tles and  in  the  **  Breaking  of  Bread.  "^  They  were 
gathered  together  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  to 
Break  Bread.'  At  Emmaus,  when  the  risen  Master 
"took  bread  and  blessed  and  brake  and  gave  to 
them,  their  eyes  were  opened."    They  knew  Him  in 

»Apoc.  1,  12.  'Act.  2,  42.  8 Act.  20,  7, 


CHRIST  IN  THE  EUCHARIST  189 

the  Breaking  of  Bread.*  The  significance  of  this 
service,  St.  Paul  explains  :^  * '  The  Chalice  of  Ben- 
ediction which  we  bless,  is  it  not  the  Communion 
of  the  Blood  of  Christ?  And  the  Bread  which  we 
break,  is  it  not  the  partaking  of  the  Body  of 
Christ?'' 

So  the  Christian  worship  centers  around  not  a 
symbol  merely,  but  the  really  present  body  and 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  subjoined  passage,  in 
which  St.  Paul  warns  those  who  receive  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  unworthily,  that  they  are  guilty  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  the  Lord,  and  so  eat  and  drink 
to  their  damnation,  instead  of  their  salvation,  re- 
cords the  faith  of  the  early  Christians  in  the  real 
presence  of  Christ  in  the  Holy  Eucharist. 

Paul's  Testimony.  **I  have  received  of  the  Lord 
that  which  I  also  delivered  to  you,  that  the  Lord 
Jesus,  the  same  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed, 
took  bread,  and  giving  thanks,  broke  and  said: 
Take  ye  and  eat :  this  is  my  body  which  shall  be  de- 
livered for  you:  this  do  for  the  commemoration  of 
me.  In  like  manner  also  the  chalice,  after  he  had 
supped,  saying:  This  chalice  is  the  new  testament 
in  my  blood:  this  do  ye,  as  often  as  ye  shall  drink, 
for  the  commemoration  of  me.  For  as  often  as  you 
shall  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  the  chalice,  you  shall 
show  the  death  of  the  Lord,  until  He  come.  There- 
fore whosoever  shall  eat  this  bread,  or  drink  the 
chalice  of  the  Lord  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of 
the  body  and  of  the  blood  of  the  Lord.  But  let  a 
man  prove  himself:  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that 
bread,  and  drink  of  the  chalice.  For  he  that  eat- 
eth  and  drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh 
judgment  to  himself,  not  discerning  the  body  of  the 
Lord."« 

History  of  the  Promise.    As  Paul  recorded  the  be- 

*Luke   24,    30.  6  1.    Cor.    10,    16.  « I.    Cor.    11.    23-29. 


190  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

lief  and  practice  of  the  early  Church  about  the 
Holy  Eucharist,  John  has  left  us  in  the  sixth  chapter 
of  his  Gospel,  the  history  of  the  first  announcement 
of  this  Sacrament,  when  it  was  promised  by  Christ. 

The  people  having  seen  the  miracle  by  which  Je- 
sus fed  thousands  with  a  few  loaves,  were  ready  to 
take  Him  by  force  and  make  Him  their  king.  Hav- 
ing thus  prepared  them,  Jesus  spoke  to  them  of  a 
better  food  that  would  nourish  their  souls  unto  ev- 
erlasting life,  and  announced:  ^'I  am  the  living 
Bread  which  came  down  from  Heaven.  Amen, 
Amen,  I  say  to  you:  He  that  believeth  in  Me  hath 
everlasting  life.  I  am  the  Bread  of  Life.  Your 
fathers  did  eat  manna  in  the  desert  and  are  dead. 
This  is  the  Bread  which  cometh  down  from  Heaven, 
that  if  any  man  eat  of  it  he  may  not  die.  I  am  the 
Living  Bread,  which  came  down  from  Heaven.  If 
any  man  eat  of  this  Bread,  he  shall  live  forever: 
and  the  Bread  that  I  will  give  is  My  Flesh  for  the 
lifeof  the  world. ''^ 

Analysis.  What  did  Jesus  say?  Let  us  analyze 
His  words.  *' First,  Christ  states  in  a  general  way 
that  He  is  the  bread  of  life,  which  came  down  from 
heaven.  Secondly,  He  compares  this  bread  to  the 
manna,  which  was  given  to  the  Israelites  in  the  des- 
ert, and  points  out  its  superiority,  in  as  much  as  it 
imparts  life  everlasting,  whereas  those  who  ate  of 
the  manna  are  dead.  Thirdly,  He  states  explicitly 
that  this  bread  is  His  own  flesh,  and  because  it  is 
His  flesh,  therefore  He  calls  it  the  living  bread. 
Fourthly,  He  makes  the  unconditioned  and  explicit 
promise  that  He  will  give  this  living  bread,  which 
is  His  flesh,  as  food  to  His  followers.  Hence  if  we 
take  our  Lord's  words  as  they  stand,  they  make  it 
as  plain  as  words  can  do,  that  He  promised  to  pro- 
vide   for   His   real   and   personal    divine   presence 

»John   6,   47-52. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  EUCHARIST  191 

upon  the  earth  in  such  a  way  that  His  followers 
would  be  enabled  to  eat  His  flesh  and  drink  His 
blood,  and  thus  have  everlasting  life. ' '  ® 

Christ  Repeats  Truth.  Thus  literally  the  Jews 
understood  our  Lord  and  incredulously  demanded: 
* '  How  can  this  man  give  us  His  flesh  to  eat  ? "  ** 
Christ  answers  them  by  repeating  the  great  truth 
which  they  must  be  content  to  believe  on  the  author- 
ity of  Him  whose  miracle  had  only  yesterday  stirred 
their  enthusiasm.     So  Jesus  continued: 

**Amen,  Amen,  I  say  to  you:  Except  you  eat  the 
Flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man  and  drink  His  Blood,  you 
shall  not  have  life  in  you.  He  that  eateth  My  Flesh 
and  drinketh  My  Blood,  hath  everlasting  life,  and 
I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day.  For  My  Flesh 
is  meat  indeed  and  My  Blood  is  drink  indeed.  He 
that  eateth  My  Flesh  and  drinketh  My  Blood,  abid- 
eth  in  Me  and  I  in  him.  As  the  Living  Father  hath 
sent  Me  and  I  live  by  the  Father ;  so  he  that  eateth 
Me  the  same  shall  have  life  by  Me.  This  is  the 
Bread  that  came  down  from  Heaven.  Not  as  your 
fathers  did  eat  manna  and  are  dead.  He  that  eat- 
eth this  Bread  shall  live  forever.*'  ^^^ 

Jews  Reject  Christ's  Gift.  After  this  many  said: 
"This  is  a  hard  saying,  who  can  hear  it?"  Jesus 
warned  them  that  their  hope  of  grasping  this  truth 
lay  in  their  being  spiritual  men ;  that  not  the  eyes  of 
the  flesh,  but  of  faith,  could  see  His  presence  in  this 
divine  food:  ''It  is  the  spirit  that  quickeneth," 
said  He,  ''the  flesh  profiteth  nothing.  The  words 
that  I  have  spoken  to  you  are  spirit  and  life."  In 
spite  of  this  appeal  to  their  faith,  "many  went  back 
and  walked  with  Him  no  more." 

What  did  Jesus  do  for  these  unbelieving  ones? 
They  took  our  Lord's  words  literally:  that  men 
must  somehow  eat  His  flesh  and  drink  His  blood  as 

"Otten,    Sacramental   Life    of   Church.  lojohn    6,    54-60. 

•John   6,   53. 


192  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

the  food  of  the  soul.  They  could  not  understand 
such  a  thing  and  turned  away.  Did  He  call  them 
back  and  say:  '*You  have  misunderstood  Me;  I 
was  not  speaking  literally;  I  was  speaking  only  in 
metaphor;  I  did  not  really  mean  that  you  must  eat 
My  Flesh.  Come  back;  let  Me  explain.''  No,  Je- 
sus let  them  go.  His  language  was  not  figurative. 
He  had  spoken  as  plainly  as  iteration  can  make 
speech.  The  Jews  had  understood  Him.  He  had 
proclaimed  His  message.  There  was  no  explanation 
to  make.  He  did  not  call  the  unbelievers  back; 
but  turning  to  the  Apostles,  He  said:  *'Will  you 
also  go  away?"  The  Apostles  did  not  go.  They 
long  since  had  learned  that  there  were  many  things 
which  Jesus  knew  and  did,  which  they  could  not 
understand.  St.  Peter  answering  for  them  said: 
^*Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?  Thou  hast  the  words 
of  Eternal  Life.'' 

Transubstantiation.  Catholics  stand  as  did  the 
Apostles,  with  Him  who  has  the  words  of  eternal 
life.  They  do  not  understand  how  Christ  is  present 
in  the  Blessed  Sacrament;  but  they  do  not  for  that 
reason,  refuse  to  believe.  Our  faith  is  founded 
upon  the  authority  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  no  harder 
to  believe  that  He  remains  with  us  in  some  mysteri- 
ous way  under  the  appearances  of  food,  than  it  is 
to  believe  that  the  divine  Son  of  God  dwelt  amongst 
us  in  the  form  of  the  carpenter  of  Nazareth.  While 
all  the  appearances  of  bread  and  wine  remain  after 
the  consecration  in  the  Mass,  a  real,  albeit  invisible, 
change  has  taken  place;  and  Jesus  Christ  is  sub- 
stantially present  under  these  humble  forms  of 
food.  The  word  transubstantiation  has  been 
adopted  by  the  Church  as  most  properly  expressing 
the  change  that  takes  place  in  the  Mass. 

The  Eucharist  Instituted.  At  His  last  supper,  the 
\iight  before  He  died,  Jesus  Christ  instituted  the 


CHRIST  IN  THE  EUCHARIST  193 

Sacrament  that  would  give  us  Himself  as  our  spir- 
itual food.  Under  the  appearances  of  bread  and 
wine — types  of  human  food — Christ  finds  a  way  of 
remaining  in  the  midst  of  us.  We  have  heard  the 
testimony  of  Paul  and  John.  Matthew,  Mark  and 
Luke  add  their  record  of  the  Last  Supper  and  the 
words  there  spoken  by  the  Son  of  God.  They  are 
Christ's  last  will  and  testament:  and  so  they  are 
very  plain  words.  They  bespeak  the  mind  and  will 
of  the  divine  Master. 

St.  Matthew's  record:  Whilst  they  were  at  sup- 
per, Jesus  took  bread  and  blessed  and  broke  and 
gave  to  His  disciples  and  said:  Take  ye  and  eat: 
THIS  IS  MY  BODY.  And  taking  the  chalice  He 
gave  thanks  and  gave  to  them  saying :  Drink  ye  all 
of  this.  For  THIS  IS  MY  BLOOD  of  the  New 
Testament,  which  shall  be  shed  for  many  unto  the 
remission  of  sins.^^ 

St.  Mark  records :  Whilst  they  were  eating,  Jesus 
took  bread,  and  blessing,  broke  and  gave  to  them 
and  said:  Take  ye,  THIS  IS  MY  BODY.  And  hav- 
ing taken  the  Chalice,  giving  thanks,  He  gave  it  to 
them.  And  they  all  drank  of  it.  And  He  said  to 
them :  THIS  IS  MY  BLOOD  of  the  New  Testament, 
which  shall  be  shed  for  many.^- 

St.  Luke  records :  Taking  bread.  He  gave  thanks 
and  brake  and  gave  to  them  saying:  THIS  IS  MY 
BODY  which  is  given  for  you.  Do  this  for  a  com- 
memoration of  me.  In  like  manner  the  Chalice  also, 
after  He  had  supped,  saying:  THIS  IS  THE  CHAL- 
ICE, THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  IN  MY  BLOOD, 
which  shall  be  shed  for  you.^^ 

Christians  Reject  Christ?  Catholics  are  continu- 
ally shocked  to  see  professing  Christians  treat  this 
great  Sacrament  precisely  as  did  the  unbelieving 
Jews  of  our  Lord's  time.    Because  they  cannot  un- 

^m.  26,  26-28.  "Mk.  14,  22-24.  "Luke  22,   19-20. 


194  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

derstand  how  the  mystery  is  effected  they  refuse  to 
bow  their  minds  even  to  the  authority  of  God  and 
believe  what  He  has  revealed.  In  the  face  of 
Christ's  plain  words,  they  say:  *'Well,  whatever 
Christ  may  have  said,  He  must  have  meant  some- 
thing else/'  They  insist  that  He  must  have  spoken 
only  figuratively.  A  little  study  will  show  that 
Christ  was  very  careful  not  to  be  misunderstood. 
Thus,  on  other  and  less  important  occasions,  when 
He  spoke  figuratively  and  was  taken  literally,  He 
at  once  corrected  His  hearers.^*  Likewise  He  cor- 
rected them  when  they  mistook  for  metaphor  what 
He  meant  literally.^^  Is  it  likely  that  in  the  su- 
preme matter  of  His  last  will  and  testament,  He 
would  be  obscure — especially  when  that  will  in- 
volved a  Covenant  for  the  New  Law?  When  the 
Jews  understood  Him  to  speak  literally,  would  He 
not  have  corrected  them,  if  they  had  missed  His 
meaning?  Moreover,  as  all  scholars  testify,  in  Ori- 
ental metaphor,  to  eat  one's  flesh,  has  only  the 
meaning  to  calumniate,  to  back-bite.^®  As  the  lov- 
ing design  of  the  Savior  was  far  removed  from 
this  metaphorical  sense,  we  must — like  the  Jews, 
take  His  words  literally;  and — unlike  the  Jews  we 
must  gladly  believe  Him  who  has  the  words  of  eter- 
nal life. 

46.    THE  SACRIFICE  OF  THE  MASS. 

The  great  public  worship  of  the  Catholic  Church 
centers  around  Jesus  Christ,  present  in  the  Holy 
Eucharist.  On  entering  our  churches  the  stranger 
finds  occupying  the  most  prominent  place  therein, 
not  an  organ  or  a  pulpit,  but  an  altar.  Music  and 
eloquence  each  have  their  place  in  religion,  but  it 

"John  3,   3;   4,   31;    11,   11;   Mt.   16,   16. 

"John  8;   Mt.  9. 

"Job  19,  22;  Eccles.  4,  5;  Ps.  27,  2;  Gal.  5,   15. 


SACRIFICE  OF  THE  MASS  195 

is  a  secondary  place.  On  the  Catholic  altar  the 
Mass  is  celebrated  daily.  AVithin  the  altar-taber- 
nacle is  preserved  the  Blessed  Sacrament — Jesus 
Christ  present  under  the  appearances  of  food.  The 
altar  becomes  a  throne  of  the  hidden  God.  The 
Lord  is  in  His  holy  temple.  Christ  occupies  the 
central  place  in  the  Church.  He  is  the  attraction. 
He  is  the  magnet  that  draws  multitudes  to  Mass  each 
Sunday. 

The  Mass,  From  the  beginning  the  Church  cele- 
brated the  Mass  as  a  means  instituted  by  Christ  for 
perpetuating  in  the  world,  His  redeeming  sacrifice 
and  applying  its  fruits  to  the  individual  soul.  **As 
often  as  you  shall  eat  this  bread  and  drink  the  chal- 
ice, you  shall  show  the  death  of  the  Lord  until  He 
comes.'' ^  Jesus  Christ  established  the  Mass  as  a 
new  Covenant  or  Testament.  The  Christian  Church 
was  to  have  its  Covenant  between  God  and  His  peo- 
ple, not  less  surely  than  did  the  Jewish  synagogue. 
The  Old  Law  had  covenants  typifying  the  reality 
that  was  to  come.  Here  was  the  reality — Christ 
Himself.  **This  is  the  New  Testament  in  my 
Blood.''-  As  priests  of  the  New  Law  the  Apostles 
were  empowered  to  celebrate  this  Mystery  of  Faith. 
**Do  this,"  said  Christ,  *'in  commemoration  of 
Me."^ 

On  the  altars  of  the  Catholic  Church,  whose  zone 
of  chalices  encircles  the  world,  the  Mass  is  cele- 
brated every  day.  Since  time  changes  from  conti- 
nent to  continent,  this  morning  sacrifice  is  at  every 
moment,  taking  place  somewhere.  In  it  is  fulfilled 
the  prophecy  of  Malachi :  *  **From  the  rising  of  the 
sun  even  to  the  going  down,  my  name  is  great  among 
the  Gentiles;  and  in  every  place  there  is  sacrifice, 

1  T.   Cor.   11.   26. 

2  Luke  22,   20;   I.   Cor.   11,   25;   Mt.   26,   28. 
«Luke  22,   19.     I.  Cor.   11,  25. 

*Mal.   1,   11. 


196  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

and  there  is  offered  to  my  name  a  clean  oblation: 
for  my  name  is  great  among  the  Gentiles,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts/' 

Names.  From  the  days  of  the  Apostles  to  the 
present  time,  the  Church  has  cherished  this  New 
Covenant  as  the  greatest  gift  of  God.  It  is  called 
the  Holy  Eucharist  or  great  grace ;  the  Blessed  Sac- 
rament par  excellence,  because  it  contains  the  source 
of  all  grace,  Jesus  Christ;  the  Lord's  Supper,  in 
view  of  the  circumstances  of  its  institution;  the 
Host  or  victim;  the  Holy  Communion  wherein  men 
come  into  sacramental  union  with  God;  the  Viati- 
cum, when  received  by  the  dying  as  the  riches  of 
eternity ;  the  Mass,  some  say  from  Messiah,  or  from 
the  salutation  at  the  close  of  the  sacrifice,  Ite  Missa 
est — Go,  it  is  finished.^ 

A  Sacrifice  Forever.  In  his  vision  of  Heaven  St. 
John  beheld  Christ  standing  before  the  throne  of 
God,  like  a  lamb  just  now  slain.^  Christ  IS  the 
Savior.  With  God  there  is  neither  past  nor  fu- 
ture. To  Him  all  is  one  eternal  present.  The  Sac- 
rifice of  Christ  is  as  much  a  reality  now  as  it  was 
on  the  day  of  the  crucifixion.  Before  His  coming 
among  men  Christ's  redeeming  grace  might  be  ap- 
plied to  souls  in  anticipation  of  His  sacrifice.  To 
the  end  of  time  the  covenant  of  the  New  Law  will 
apply  the  grace  of  the  same  sacrifice  to  the  souls  of 
men.  The  Mass  brings  Calvary  to  our  very  doors 
and  enables  us  to  stand  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross. 
Baptism  and  the  other  sacraments  convey  from  the 
Cross,  the  particular  grace  needed  by  the  Christian 
in  some  great  crisis  of  life.  The  Mass  brings  to 
men  the  grace  they  need  day  by  day  through  life, 
the  daily  bread  of  the  soul. 

Mass  and  Cross.  The  Mass  is  properly  called  a 
sacrifice.     It  is  not  a  different  sacrifice  from  that  of 

6  John  19,  30.  'Apoc.  5,  6. 


SACRIFICE  OF  THE  MASS  197 

Calvary.  It  is  Christ's  sacrifice.  It  shows  forth 
His  death  forever.  In  it  Christ  is  the  High  Priest 
as  He  was  on  Calvary.  His  human  priest  is  His 
instrument  and  mouthpiece.  In  the  Mass,  as  on 
Calvary,  Christ  is  the  victim  offered.  He  is  really 
present  on  the  altar.  He  dies  now  no  more.  His 
death  is  represented  by  the  two-fold  consecration, 
first  of  the  bread,  then  of  the  wine — as  though  His 
body  and  blood  were  separated.  The  Mass  differs 
from  Calvary  in  being  a  ** clean,'*  and  not  a  bloody 
oblation.  In  it  our  High  Priest  and  victim  is  still 
our  Mediator.  For  us  He  adores  when  we  neglect 
God's  majesty;  gives  thanks  when  we  forget  God's 
goodness;  petitions  when  we  are  unworthy  to  be 
heard;  atones  when  after  many  mercies  we  again 
fall  in^,o  sin  and  must  again  seek  His  saving  aid 
or  be  lost. 

Paschal  Lamb.  It  may  help  one  to  understand  the 
relation  of  the  Cross  and  the  Mass,  if  he  will  recall 
the  feast  at  which  Christ  established  the  covenant 
of  the  New  Law.  It  was  the  feast  of  the  Pasch  or 
Paschal  Lamb.  For  1500  years  the  Jews  had  cel- 
ebrated that  feast  commemorating  their  deliverance 
from  the  slavery  of  Egypt  on  that  night  when 
the  Angel  of  Death  moved  over  the  land  and  the 
first  born  was  dead  in  every  Egyptian  home,  while 
the  homes  of  the  Jews  who  had  sprinkled  their  door- 
posts with  the  blood  of  the  lamb,  were  spared.  The 
Paschal  Lamb  feast  celebrated  this  event ;  but  it  did 
more.  In  it  the  Jews  learned  to  look  forward  to 
the  coming  of  the  great  Lamb  of  God,  whose  blood 
would  be  sprinkled  on  the  door-posts  of  the  world, 
and  whose  salvation  would  be  from  the  slavery  of 
sin  and  the  darknes  of  eternal  death.  ''With  de- 
sire have  I  desired  to  eat  this  Pasch  with  you,"  said 
our  Lord  as  He  sat  at  table.  It  was  the  last  feast 
of  the  Old  Law.     On  the  morrow  the  true  Lamb  of 


198  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

God  would  be  sacrificed  on  the  Cross.  The  Old 
Testament  was  at  an  end.  The  New  Dispensation 
was  opening.  Christ  willed  that  we  should  have  a 
covenant  to  bring  His  redemption  to  our  souls,  even 
as  the  Paschal  Lamb  of  the  Jews  had  typified.  So 
at  the  end  of  the  supper,  the  Son  of  God  instituted 
the  Covenant*  in  His  Blood — the  commemorative 
sacrifice  of  the  New  Law.  In  it  He  gave  us  Him- 
self. He  gave  Himself  for  us.  He  is  ours.  He  left 
the  means  by  which  all  souls  could  be  sanctified  by 
the  blood  of  the  true  Lamb  of  God  and  could  feed 
upon  His  flesh  for  their  nourishment  unto  eternal 
life. 

Our  Melchisedech.  Christ  offered  His  one  eternal 
sacrifice.  It  abides  forever,  to  be  applied  to  the 
souls  of  men.  Religion  without  a  sacrifice  possesses 
but  an  imperfect  external  worship.  Sacrifice,  in  the 
strict  sense,  visibly  and  autwardly  represents  the 
sentiment  that  God  is  the  first  source  and  last  end 
— the  sovereign  Lord  of  all  things.  It  is  a  visible 
gift  offered -to  God  and  wholly  or  partially  destroyed 
in  honor  and  adoration  of  Him  as  the  Supreme  Lord. 
The  Old  Law  had  its  sacrifices  which  were  types  and 
figures  of  the  reality  to  come.  The  public  worship 
of  the  New  Law  is  worthier  than  that  of  the  Old 
Law,  as  substance  is  better  than  shadows.  It  is  the 
reality.  The  Mass  is  the  sacrifice  of  Christian  wor- 
ship, continually  offered  to  God  in  praise,  petition, 
thanksgiving  and  atonement.  Jesus  Christ  perpet- 
uating His  sacrifice  in  the  world  by  means  of  the 
Mass,  is  indeed,  as  the  Psalmist  foretold:  *^A  Priest 
forever,  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedech. ' '  ^ 

47.  THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  ALTAR. 

The  Holy  Eucharist  is  a  sacrament  as  well  as  a 

^  Ps.  109,  4;  M.  sacrificed  with  bread  and  wine.     Gen.  14,  3  8. 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  ALTAR  199 

Sacrifice.  The  worshipers  eat  of  the  meat  of  the 
altar.  We  receive  Jesus  Christ  in  Holy  Commun- 
ion. We  are  sacramentally  united  with  the  Author 
of  grace.  The  effects  of  this  Sacrament  are  an  in- 
crease of  sanctifying  grace  in  the  soul,  an  abundance 
of  actual  graces,  preservation  from  grievous  sin, 
and  the  confident  hope  of  eternal  salvation.  **He 
that  eateth  My  flesh  and  drinketh  My  blood  hath 
everlasting  life ;  and  I  will  raise  him  up  in  the  last 
day.'^i 

Practice.  By  a  law  of  the  Church  Catholics  are 
obliged  to  receive  Holy  Communion  during  the 
Easter  time.  Perhaps  most  communicants  approach 
the  sacred  banquet  every  month ;  while  multitudes 
of  pious  souls  receive  our  divine  Lord  sacramentally 
weekly  or  even  daily.  Catholics  prepare  for  Holy 
Communion  by  Confession,  to  make  sure,  as  far  as 
is  possible  in  this  life,  that  they  are  in  the  state  of 
grace.  *'Let  a  man  prove  himself,'^  says  St.  Paul, 
''and  so  eat  of  that  bread. "^  Out  of  respect  for 
the  food  of  the  soul,  which  he  is  to  receive  at  the 
morning  Mass,  the  communicant  abstains  from  all 
bodily  food  from  midnight.  This  discipline  does 
not  apply  to  the  dangerously  ill  who  may  at  any 
time  receive  the  Blessed  Sacrament  as  viaticum. 
One  of  the  great  events  in  the  Catholic's  life  is  the 
day  of  First  Communion,  when  after  instruction  and 
preparation,  the  child  receives  for  the  first  time  his 
sacramental  Lord. 

Christ  continues  to  be  present  under  the  species 
of  bread  and  wine  as  long  as  the  species  themselves 
continue  to  exist.  Under  the  species  of  bread  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  is  usually  preserved  in  the 
churches.  A  little  light  burning  before  the  altar- 
tabernacle  indicates  the  divine  presence.  The 
Blessed  Sacrament  is  at  times  publicly  exposed  on 

»John  6,  55.  » I.  Cor.  11.  28. 


200  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

the  altar,  and  carried  in  solemn  processions.  Bene- 
diction of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  a  frequent  serv- 
ice. The  Forty  Hours '  devotion  is  a  solemn  triduum 
of  honor  to  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament: 
each  parish  in  the  diocese  in  turn  taking  part  in 
what  thus  becomes  a  perpetual  adoration.  The  si- 
lence and  reverence  of  Catholic  people  in  Church 
and  their  genuflection  on  entering  and  leaving  the 
sacred  edifice,  attest  their  lively  faith  in  the  real 
presence  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Altar. 

Communion  Under  One  Form.  It  is  often  asked 
by  non-Catholics,  why  the  people  do  not  receive  the 
wine  as  well  as  the  bread  at  Communion.  Neither 
priest  nor  people  receive  either  bread  or  wine  in  the 
Eucharist.  Both  receive  Jesus  Christ — body  and 
blood,  soul  and  divinity.  As  a  sacrifice  showing 
the  death  of  the  Lord,  the  Eucharist  must  employ 
the  separate  forms  of  bread  and  wine,  which  the  of- 
ficiating priest  then  receives.  But  in  fact  the  di- 
vine body  and  blood  are  no  longer  separated.  Christ 
is  not  dead  but  living.  Christ  is  really  present 
whole  and  entire  under  the  appearance  of  bread 
and  under  the  appearance  of  wine.  In  the  Eucha- 
rist as  a  sacrament.  Christians  receive  Christ.  This 
they  can  do  under  both  forms  or  under  either  form, 
as  body  and  blood  are  no  longer  separated.  Christ 
speaks  sometimes  of  the  reception  of  His  body 
only.^  It  is  the  present  discipline  of  the  Church 
that  communicants  receive  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
under  the  form  of  bread.  This  mode  of  reception 
is  sufiicient,  and  avoids  many  difficulties  connected 
with  giving  the  Sacrament — perhaps  to  several  hun- 
dred at  a  single  Mass — under  the  form  of  wine. 

The  distinction  between  the  Eucharist  as  a  sacrifice 
and  a  sacrament,  as  well  as  the  reception  of  the  sac- 

»John  6,  59. 


LITURGY  OF  THE  MASS  201 

rament  under  one  or  both  forms  of  food,  is  indi- 
cated in  St.  Paul's  words:  '*For  as  often  as  you 
shall  eat  this  bread  AND  drink  the  chalice,  you 
show  the  death  of  the  Lord.  .  .  .  Whosoever  shall 
eat  this  bread  OR  drink  the  chalice  of  the  Lord  un- 
worthily, shall  be  guilty  of  the  body  and  of  the 
blood  of  the  Lord."* 

Union  with  God.  It  is  not  possible  for  a  brief 
exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Eucharist  to  reveal 
the  warm  spiritual  life  which  the  Holy  Communion 
means  to  the  Christian.  For  who  will  describe  a 
soul's  union  with  its  God?  The  seemingly  inspired 
pen  of  Thomas  a  Kempis  devotes  the  fourth  part 
of  the  ** Following  of  Christ"  to  this  divine  Sacra- 
ment, in  which  the  following  of  the  disciple  re- 
ceives its  reward  in  union  with  his  beloved  Master. 

48.    THE  LITURGY  OP  THE  MASS. 

The  liturgy  or  ritual  of  the  Mass  is  essentially 
what  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles.  The  forms 
of  prayer,  the  sacred  ceremonies  and  vestments  have 
been  used  for  centuries  and  centuries  by  saints, 
martyrs,  confessors  and  Apostles  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  word  liturgy  is  found  in  the  Greek  text  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles.^  **As  they  were  ministering 
to  the  Lord  and  fasting,  the  Holy  Ghost  said  to 
them,  separate  unto  me  Saul  and  Barnabas."  The 
** ministering  unto  the  Lord"  here  mentioned,  is 
not  the  serving  at  table,  sometimes  called  minister- 
ing.- A  very  different  Greek  word  is  used.  The 
word  is.  **liturgizing" — performing  the  liturgy  or 
external  public  act  of  worship.  "With  the  Apostles 
this  was,  of  course,  the  Eucharistic  service. 

*I.  Cor.  11,  26-27.  The  King  James  translators  altered  this  text, 
changing  "or"  to  "and"  in  verse  27,  to  make  the  Bible  seem  to  support 
their  contention  against  Communion  under  one  kind.  The  Revised 
Prot.  Version  restored  the  text. 

^Act.  13,  2.  'Act.  6,  2. 


202  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

Low  and  High  Mass.  Accordingly  as  the  liturgy- 
is  merely  read  or  is  chanted  in  part,  we  speak  of 
Low  Mass  or  High  Mass.  If  the  officiating  priest 
is  assisted  by  deacon  and  subdeacon,  this  more  sol- 
emn celebration  of  the  divine  service  is  called  Sol- 
emn Mass.  High  Mass  celebrated  by  a  Bishop 
(Pontiff)  is  styled  Pontifical.  Mass  for  the  dead 
is  called  Requiem,  from  the  first  word  of  the  in- 
troit — ''Rest  eternal  give  to  them,  0  Lord.'^  The 
celebration  of  Low  Mass  occupies  about  half  an 
hour:  the  High  Mass  a  somewhat  longer  time. 

Mass  of  Catechumens.  The  Mass  is  said  to  have 
three  principal  parts:  the  Offertory,  the  Consecra- 
tion, and  the  Communion.  These  parts  which  con- 
stitute the  Mass  proper,  are  introduced  by  a 
popular  service  called  in  the  early  days  of  the 
Church,  the  Mass  of  the  Catechumens  or  candidates 
under  instruction  but  not  yet  baptized.  This  pre- 
liminary portion  of  the  service  consists,  as  a  rule, 
of  the  recitation  of  the  42nd  Psalm  and  the  Con- 
fiteor  or  general  confession  of  sin,  at  the  foot  of 
the  altar;  the  Kyrie  Eleison,  or  appeal  to  the  triune 
God  for  mercy ;  the  Introit  and  Collect, — short  pray- 
ers appropriate  to  the  feast  of  the  day;  the  hymn 
''Gloria  in  Excelsis  Deo";  the  Lesson  and  Gospel, — 
selections  appropriate  to  the  day,  the  one  from  the 
Gospels,  the  other  from  some  other  part  of  the  Bi- 
ble; the  Credo  or  Creed.  The  sermon  is  usually 
preached  after  the  Gospel.  In  ancient  times  the 
Catechumens  were  here  dismissed  and  only  the  ini- 
tiated remained  for  the  Mass  proper. 

The  Offertory.  The  chalice  is  now  uncovered. 
Wine  and  a  little  water  are  poured  into  it.  The  un- 
leavened bread  of  pure  wheat  is  on  the  paten  or 
plate.  Everything  is  ready  for  the  sacrifice  to  be- 
gin. This  part  of  the  liturgy  is  called  the  Offertory, 
because  the  bread  and  wine  prepared  for  the  obla- 


LITURGY  OF  THE  MASS  203 

tion  are  offered  to  God  as  the  elements  of  the  sacri- 
fice which  is  about  to  take  place :  also  because  at  this 
time  offerings  are  made  for  the  needs  of  the  Church 
and  its  work.^  The  Offertory  is  accompanied  by 
beautiful  prayers  which,  like  the  whole  liturgy  of 
the  Mass,  may  be  found  in  prayer-books  generally. 

The  Consecration.  The  Consecration  is  the  cen- 
tral act  of  the  Mass.  Forgetting  himself  and  speak- 
ing only  as  the  instrument  of  Christ,  the  priest  pro- 
nounces over  the  bread  and  wine  the  words  uttered 
by  the  Lord  at  the  last  supper.  The  words  of  the 
Consecration  with  the  prayers  immediately  before 
and  after  it,  are  as  follows: 

We  therefore  beseech  Thee,  O  Lord,  graciously  to 
accept  this  oblation  of  our  service,  as  also  of  Thy 
whole  family,  and  to  dispose  our  days  in  Thy  peace; 
preserve  us  from  eternal  damnation,  and  number  us 
in  the  flock  of  Thine  elect.  Through  Christ,  Our 
Lord.     Amen. 

Which  oblation  do  Thou,  O  God,  vouchsafe  in  all 
respects  to  make  blessed,  approved,  ratified,  reason- 
able, and  acceptable,  that  it  may  become  to  us  the 
body  and  blood  of  Thy  most  beloved  Son,  Jesus 
Christ,  Our  Lord. 

Who,  the  day  before  He  suffered,  took  bread  into 
His  holy  and  venerable  hands  and  with  His  eyes 
lifted  up  towards  heaven,  to  Thee  God,  His  almighty 
Father:  giving  thanks  to  Thee,  did  bless,  break,  and 
give  to  His  disciples,  saying:  Take,  and  eat  ye  all 
of  this:    For  this  is   My   body. 

After  pronouncing  the  words  of  consecration,  the 

'  The  oflferings  taken  up  in  Church  are  to  support  the  material  side 
of  religion,  buildings,  heat,  light,  music,  teachers,  charities,  etc.,  which 
God  leaves  to  our  generosity,  while  the  priceless  grace  of  salvation  is 
His  free  gift.  For  his  personal  needs  the  priest  receives  a  fixed  salary, 
usually  from  $500  to  $1,000,  a  year.  In  all  churches  it  is  customary 
for  the  clergy  to  receive  perquisites  on  special  occasions.  Such  fees  are 
the  only  contribution  some  people  ever  make  toward  religion.  As  mar- 
riages, and  funerals  (and  sometimes  their  anniversaries)  are  celebrated 
with  Mass,  at  a  special  service,  with  special  decorations,  music,  at- 
tendants, sermon,  etc.,  an  offering  ($1,  $5,  $10)  proportionate  to  the 
special  work  and  the  means  of  the  giver  is  made  on  these  occasions. 
But  people  do  not  buy  the  grace  of  God,  or  pay  for  the  Mass.  The 
Bible  says:     "He  that  serves  the  altar  shall  live  by  the  altar." 


204  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

priest  kneeling  adores ;  rising  elevates  the  Host ;  and 
then  kneels  again  in  adoration.  He  then  proceeds, 
taking  the  chalice  in  both  hands : 

In  like  manner,  after  He  had  supped,  taking  also 
this  excellent  chalice  into  His  holy  and  venerable 
hands,  and  giving  Thee  thanks,  He  blessed,  and  gave 
to  His  disciples,  saying:  Take  and  drink  ye  all  of 
this.  For  this  is  the  chalice  of  My  hlood  of  the 
new  and  eternal  testament;  the  mystery  of  faith: 
which  shall  be  shed  for  you  and  for  many,  to  the 
remission  of  sins. 

As  often  as  ye  do  these  things,  ye  shall  do  them 
in  remembrance  of  Me. 

Kneeling  the  priest  adores ;  and  rising  he  elevates 
the  chalice  for  the  adoration  of  the  faithful;  and 
makes  a  second  act  of  adoration.  He  then  pro- 
ceeds : 

Wherefore,  O  Lord,  we  Thy  servants,  as  also  Thy 
holy  people,  calling  to  mind  the  blessed  Passion  of 
the  same  Christ  Thy  Son,  Our  Lord,  His  resurrection 
from  hell  and  glorious  ascension  into  heaven,  offer 
unto  Thy  most  excellent  Majesty,  of  Thy  gifts  and 
grants,  a  pure  Host,  a  holy  Host,  an  immaculate 
Host,  the  holy  bread  of  eternal  life,  and  the  chalice 
of    everlasting    salvation. 

Upon  which  vouchsafe  to  look  with  a  propitious 
and  serene  countenance,  and  to  accept  them,  as  Thou 
wast  graciously  pleased  to  accept  the  gifts  of  Thy 
just  servant  Abel,  and  the  sacrifice  of  our  Patriarch 
Abraham,  and  that  which  the  high  priest  Melchise- 
dech  offered  to  Thee,  a  holy  sacrifice,  an  immaculate 
host. 

We  most  humbly  beseech  Thee,  almighty  God, 
command  these  things  to  be  carried  by  the  hands  of 
Thy  angel  to  Thy  altar  on  high,  in  the  sight  of  Thy 
divine  Majesty,  that  as  many  of  us  as  by  participa- 
tion at  this  altar  shall  receive  the  most  sacred  body 
and  blood  of  Thy  Son  may  be  filled  with  all  heavenly 
benediction  and  grace.  Through  the  same  Christ, 
Our  Lord.    Amen. 


LITURGY  OF  THE  MASS  205 

The  Communion.  At  the  Communion,  the  priest 
and  such  of  the  people  as  are  prepared  to  do  so,  re- 
ceive sacramentally  our  divine  Lord  now  present 
on  the  altar.  The  liturgy  is  as  follows:  Bowing 
down  and  striking  his  breast,  the  priest  ^ays  the 
Agnus  Dei: 

Lamb  of  God,  who  takcst  away  the  sins  of  the 
world,  have  mercy  on  us. 

Lamb  of  God,  who  takest  away  the  sins  of  the 
world,  have  mercy  on  us. 

Lamb  of  God,  who  takest  away  the  sins  of  the 
world,  grant  us  peace. 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Who  said  to  Thy  apostles,  I 
leave  you  peace,  I  give  you  My  peace,  regard  not  my 
sins,  but  the  faith  of  Thy  Church;  and  grant  her 
that  peace  and  unity  which  is  agreeable  to  Thy  will; 
Who  livest  and  reignest  forever  and  ever.     Amen. 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Son  of  the  living  God,  W^ho, 
according  to  the  will  of  Thy  Father,  hast  by  Thy 
death,  through  the  cooperation  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
given  life  to  the  world,  deliver  me  by  this  Thy  most 
sacred  body  and  blood  from  all  my  iniquities,  and 
from  all  evils;  and  make  me  always  adhere  to  Thy 
commandments,  and  never  suffer  me  to  be  separated 
from  Thee;  Who  livest  and  reignest  with  God  the 
Father,  etc.     Amen. 

Let  not,  0  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  participation  of 
Thy  body,  which  I,  though  unworthy,  presume  to 
receive,  turn  to  my  judgment  and  condemnation : 
but,  through  Thy  mercy,  may  it  be  to  me  a  safe- 
guard and  remedy,  both  for  soul  and  body:  Who  with 
God  the  Father,  in  the  unity  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
livest  and  reignest  God. 

I  will  take  the  bread  of  heaven,  and  call  upon  the 
name  of  the  Lord. 

Taking  the  two  portions  of  the  Host  in  his  hand, 
the  priest  strikes  his  breast,  and  says  thrice: 

Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou  shouldst  enter 
under  my  roof;  say  but  the  word  and  my  soul  shall 
be  healed. 


206  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

Consuming  the  sacred  Host,  he  says : 

May  the  body  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  preserve 
my   soul   to   life   everlasting.     Amen. 

After  a  short  pause  of  silent  meditation  and 
thanksgiving,  he  says: 

What  shall  I  render  to  the  Lord  for  all  He  hath 
rendered  unto  me?  I  will  take  the  chalice  of  sal- 
vation, and  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Prais- 
ing, I  will  call  upon  the  Lord,  and  shall  be  saved 
from  my  enemies. 

Receiving  the  chalice,  he  says: 

May  the  blood  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  preserve 
my  soul   to  everlasting  life.     Amen. 

The  Holy  Communion  is  given  to  the  people  who 
kneel  at  the  altar-railing.  The  last  prayers  are  then 
said.  The  chalice  is  cleansed  and  covered.  The 
blessing  is  given;  the  final  Gospel  read;  and  the 
Mass  is  over. 

Mass  an  Action.  Cardinal  Newman  in  his  ''Loss 
and  Gain, ' '  replies  to  those  who  imagine  the  Mass  is 
a  mere  form  of  words.  ''It  is  not  a  mere  form 
of  words, — it  is  a  great  action,  the  greatest  action 
that  can  be  on  earth.  It  is,  not  the  invocation 
merely,  but  if  I  dare  use  the  word,  the  evocation  of 
the  Eternal.  He  becomes  present  on  the  altar  in 
flesh  and  blood  before  whom  angels  bow  and  devils 
tremble;  that  is  that  awful  event  which  is  the 
scope,  and  is  the  interpretation  of  every  part  of  the 
solemnity.  Words  are  necessary,  but  as  means,  not 
as  ends ;  they  are  not  merely  addresses  to  the  throne 
of  grace,  they  are  instruments  of  what  is  far  higher, 
of  consecration,  of  sacrifice.  They  hurry  on  as  if 
impatient  to  fulfill  their  mission.  .  .  .  And  as  Moses 


LATIN  AND  GREEK  207 

on  the  mountain,  so  we,  too,  make  haste,  and  bow 
our  heads  to  the  earth  and  adore.  So  we,  all  around, 
each  in  his  place,  look  out  for  the  great  Advent, 
'waiting  for  the  moving  of  the  water.'  Each  in 
his  place  with  his  own  heart,  with  his  own  wants, 
with  his  own  thoughts,  with  his  own  intention,  with 
his  own  prayers,  separate,  but  concordant,  watching 
what  is  going  on,  watching  its  progress,  united  in 
its  consummation ;  not  painfully  and  hopelessly  fol- 
lowing a  hard  form  of  praye^'  from  beginning  to  end, 
but,  like  a  concert  of  musical  instruments,  each  dif- 
ferent, but  concurring  in  a  sweet  harmony,  we  take 
our  part  with  God\s  priest,  supporting  him,  yet 
guided  by  him.  There  are  little  children  there,  and 
old  men,  and  simple  laborers,  students,  priests, 
there  are  innocent  maidens,  and  there  are  penitent 
sinners;  but  out  of  these  many  minds  rises  one 
euciiaristic  hymn,  and  the  great  action  is  the  meas- 
ure and  the  scope  of  it.  You  ask  me  whether  this 
is  not  a  formal,  unreasonable  service?  it  is  wonder- 
ful, quite  wonderful!'* 

49.    LATIN  AND  GREEK  IN  THE  LITURGY. 

Through  the  greater  part  of  the  Church,  the  lit- 
urgy of  the  Mass  as  well  as  of  the  Sacraments  is 
recited  in  the  Latin  language.  In  the  East,  Greek  is 
the  prevalent  liturgical  tongue.  These  ancient 
languages  bring  us  back  to  the  origin  of  the  Church 
when  Latin  and  Greek  were  the  languages  of  the 
Roman  Empire  and  so  of  the  civilized  world.  Not 
in  their  local  Hebrew  but  in  the  world-wide  Greek, 
the  inspired  writers  composed  the  New  Testament. 
The  title  on  the  Cross  of  Christ  was  written  by 
Pilate  in  Latin  and  Greek,  as  well  as  in  the  vernacu- 
lar of  the  province.  Our  modern  languages  did  not 
then  exist     The  barbarians  of  Northern  Europe  had 


208  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

no  such  thing  as  written  or  even  stable  languages 
when  Catholic  missionaries  began  their  conversion 
and  civilization.  Amid  the  uncertain  tribal  dia- 
lects which  they  tried  to  master  for  the  instruction 
of  their  people,  the  missionaries  preserved  ''the  form 
of  sound  words"  for  the  liturgy  by  reading  it  from 
their  books  written  in  the  imperial  tongues.  Thus 
the  discipline  of  using  Latin  and  Greek  as  the  liturgi- 
cal languages  of  the  Church  arose  from  circum- 
stances of  history.  The  Church  has  not  judged  it 
wise  to  change  that  ancient  custom  which  presents 
practically  no  difficulties  and  has  many  advantages. 

Advantages.  It  is  an  advantage  that  the  Latin 
keeps  the  liturgy  intact.  A  dead  language  is  free 
from  the  changes  in  form  and  sense  constantly  go- 
ing on  in  a  living  tongue.  We  can  scarcely  make 
out  the  English  of  Chaucer's  time.  By  the  use  of 
Latin,  our  liturgy  reads  the  same  and  means  the 
same  to-day  that  it  did  in  any  century  since  its  in- 
stitution. Not  oply  does  it  escape  corruption,  but 
it  is  uniform  everywhere.  As  far  as  taking  part  in 
the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  concerned,  the  Cath- 
olic is  equally  at  home  in  the  Cathedral  of  New 
York,  Berlin,  Vienna,  Paris,  Madrid,  Westminster, 
Prague,  Cracow,  Quebec,  Calcutta,  Sidney,  Buenos 
Ayres,  Tokio,  Manila,  Peking,  or  Rome. 

The  Catholic  people  experience  no  inconvenience 
from  the  fact  that  the  liturgy  is  in  Latin.  They 
are  familiar  with  the  Mass,  which,  as  Newman  points 
out,  is  above  all  an  action — not  a  sermon  but  a 
sacrifice.  Translations  of  the  liturgy  are  found  in 
the  vernacular  prayer  books.  Even  were  the  lit- 
urgy in  the  vernacular,  the  people  nvould  not  for 
the  most  part,  hear  its  words  on  account  of  the 
size  of  the  churches  and  the  fact  that  many  of  the 
prayers  are  whispered  in  silence.  Each  individual 
soul  is  to  an  extent  left  alone  with  God,  to  take 


CEREMONIES,  ETC.  209 

undisturbed  its  proper  part  in  the  ineffable  act  and 
to  lay  its  particular  wants  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross. 

Needless  to  say  the  Catholic  priests  do  not  preach 
to  the  people  in  Latin,  but  in  perhaps  a  hundred 
languages  and  dialects.  While  God  can  understand 
any  language  in  which  the  human  soul  may  speak 
to  Him,  in  addressing  himself  to  the  people,  the 
teacher  will  speak  the  tongue  known  to  his  au- 
dience. 

St.  Paul's  chapter  (1.  Cor.  14)  does  not  refer  to 
our  liturgical  use  of  Greek  and  Latin,  which  are  not 
unknown  tongues,  biit  to  the  abus«  Of  glossolaly  or 
the  ''gift  of  tongues"  prevalent  at  Corinth. 

Popular  song  and  prayer  services  that  are  outside 
of  the  sacred  liturgy,  are  conducted  in  the  vernac- 
ular. 

As  the  Church  is  Catholic  or  universal,  existing 
amid  all  nations,  the  possession  of  a  universal  lan- 
guage helps  to  preserve  its  unity.  Thanks  to  their 
common  tongue  the  Bishops  from  all  lands  can  meet 
and  confer  together  in  general  councils.  The  uni- 
versal Latin  facilitates  also  the  communication 
which  is  constantly  going  on  between  the  central 
government  of  the  Church  at  Rome  and  the  dioceses 
throughout  the  world. 

50.    CATHOLIC    CEREMONIES   AND   SACRA- 
MENTALS. 

Much  of  the  ceremonial  of  Catholic  worship  is 
intimately  connected  with  the  Holy  Eucharist.  The 
real  presence  of  Jesus  Christ  upon  the  altar  ex- 
plains the  genuflections  and  silent  prayer  with  which 
we  enter  the  church.  To  bow  the  head  and  bend 
the  knee  in  the  presence  of  the  Deity  is  a  natural 
expression  of  reverence  and  adoration  and  an  in- 
stinct of  human  nature. 


210  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

God's  Temple.  Because  it  is  the  temple  of  the 
living  God,  the  church  is  made  as  beautiful  as  cir- 
cumstances allow.  Christ  was  born  in  a  stable. 
But  Christians  will  not  leave  Him  there.  **The 
earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the  fulness  thereof.'^  Daily 
in  the  Mass  we  repeat  with  David:  ^  *'I  have  loved 
the  beauty  of  thy  house  and  the  place  where  thy 
glory  dwelleth.^'  Faith  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
calls  in  all  the  fine  arts  to  help  make  as  worthy 
as  possible,  the  house  where  the  Lord  will  abide. 
God  has  created  the  material  world,  from  the  sun 
with  its  gladsome  light,  to  the  flowers  with  their  fair 
colors.  Shall  not  all  of  God's  creatures  gather 
round  His  tabernacle  to  praise  Him?  "Bless  the 
Lord  all  the  works  of  the  Lord,  praise  Him  and  ex- 
alt Him  forever.  "2  To  deny  the  material  a  place 
in  religion,  is  to  forget  the  fact  of  the  Incarnation: 
"The  World  was  made  of  flesh  and  dwelt  amongst 
us.'' 

Pictures  and  Statues.  By  the  external  objects 
which  she  consecrates  to  the  service  of  religion,  the 
Church  reaches  men  not  alone  through  the  sense  of 
hearing  but  through  all  the  avenues  that  lead  to 
the  soul.  Modern  books  and  periodicals  are  full  of 
pictures.  By  means  of  drawings  and  models  the 
successful  teacher  appeals  to  the  eye  as  well  as  to 
the  ear.  This  valuable  principle  of  psychology  has 
been  recognized  by  the  Church  since  earliest  times. 

Pictures  and  statues  of  our  divine  Lord  and  of 
His  angels  and  saints  are  used  in  the  Catholic 
Church  in  much  the  same  way  that  family  portraits 
are  honored  in  the  home,  the  likeness  of  poets  are 
preserved  in  the  public  library,  or  the  monuments 
of  civic  heroes  are  set  up  in  the  parks.  They  keep 
alive  memories  worth  preserving.  They  inspire 
high  thoughts  and  lead  men  to  imitate  the  nobility 

iPs.  25.  *Dan.  3. 


CEREMONIES,  ETC.  211 

of  those  whose  superiority  is  acknowledged.  Need 
we  Catholics  still  tell  people  in  this  twentieth  cen- 
tury that  we  do  not  adore  statues  and  pictures? 
If  we  have  a  crucifix  before  us  as  we  kneel  in  prayer, 
it  is  to  keep  our  mind  on  Him  whom  the  crucifix 
pictures  and  to  w^hom  in  Heaven  our  prayer  is  ad- 
dressed. Those  who  have  tried  to  pray  and  have 
experienced  the  difficulty  of  keeping  the  mind  from 
wandering  off  to  everything  that  strikes  the  eye  or 
fancy,  will  appreciate  the  usefulness  of  thus  arrest- 
ing the  senses  by  an  object  which  will  help  instead 
of  hinder  the  proper  attention. 

Not  Forbidden.  Adoration,  the  worship  of  thef 
Supreme  Being,  is  paid  to  God  alone.  Catholics 
have  no  more  intention  of  adoring  the  images  in 
their  churches,  than  the  people  of  London  have  of 
adoring  the  monuments  in  Westminster  Abbey. 
Needless  to  say,  the  rational  use  of  pictures  and 
statues  is  not  forbidden  by  the  decalogue,  as  some 
have  supposed.  The  commandment  given  to  the 
Jews  who  were  surrounded  by  idolaters,  forbade  the 
making  of  images  to  be  used  as  idols — to  be  strange 
gods  before  or  in  the  place  of  the  one  Lord  God. 
The  key  to  the  meaning  of  the  commandment  is 
the  words :  *  *  Thou  shalt  not  adore  them  nor  serve 
them.'*  The  Lord  ordered  the  same  Jews  to  make 
graven  images  to  adorn  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant: 
''Make  two  cherubim  of  beaten  gold  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  oracle. ' '  ^  A  brazen  serpent  was,  by  the 
commandment  of  God,  made  and  set  up  as  a  sign  of 
the  coming  salvation.* 

Ecclesiastical  Year.  In  the  feasts  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical year,  the  Church  makes  the  days  and  nights 
join  with  His  other  works  to  bless  the  Lord.^  The 
Church  year  is  mainly  the  anniversary  celebration  of 
the  great  events  in  the  life  of  Christ.     It  is  divided 

»Ex.  25,   18.  *Num.  21,  8.  "Dan.  3,  8. 


212  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

into  three  seasons:  Advent  and  Christmas  time,  com- 
memorating the  expectation  and  the  birth  of  Christ ; 
Lent  with  Holy  Week,  commemorating  His  passion 
and  death;  Easter  time  and  the  weeks  from  Pente- 
cost to  Advent,  commemorating  His  triumph  and 
eternal  reign.  Like  a  splendid  panorama  the  feasts 
follow  one  another.  All  the  year  round  the  Church 
presents  before  the  world  the  figure  of  Jesus  Christ. 
His  personality  abides  as  a  perennial  influence. 
Some  feasts  like  Christmas  are  fixed  to  a  certain 
date ;  others  like  Easter  Sunday  to  a  certain  day. 

Friday  Abstinence.  The  death  of  Jesus  Christ  on 
Good  Friday  is  remembered  each  Friday  when 
Catholics  abstain  from  flesh  meat.  This  simple  cus- 
tom preaches  to  us  of  the  goodness  of  the  crucified 
one  and  of  the  malice  of  sin  which  caused  His  suf- 
fering. The  habit  of  self-denial  strengthens  the 
will  and  asserts  the  supremacy  of  the  spirit  over  the 
desires  of  the  flesh. 

Candles.  The  lights  and  flowers  placed  upon  the 
altar  adorn  it  and  express  the  Christiana's  love  for 
the  Eucharistic  Lord.  The  light  of  the  candles  is 
symbolic  of  the  light  of  faith;  while  the  warmth 
that  ever  goes  with  the  light  suggests  the  fire  of 
charity.  The  wax  paschal  candle,  the  fruit  of  the 
virgin  bee,  typifies  Christ  the  light  of  the  world. 
Around  the  coffins  of  the  Christian  dead,  the  candles 
remind  us  of  the  faith  of  the  deceased,  and  so  in- 
spire us  with  hope  of  their  salvation.  The  Church 
blesses  candles  to  be  used  during  the  year,  on  the 
feast  of  the  Purification  (Feb.  2),  which  is  popu- 
larly called  Candlemas. 

Holy  Water.  The  Holy  Water  with  which  the 
Catholic  sprinkles  himself  at  the  door  of  the  church, 
reminds  him  of  the  water  of  baptism  through  which 
he  first  entered  the  Church  of  God.  Holy  Water 
is  ordinary  water  set  aside  with  appropriate  bless- 


CERE]\K)NIES,  ETC.  213 

ing  for  religious  use.  It  symbolizes  the  cleanness 
of  heart  and  mind  with  which  the  Christian  should 
come  to  take  part  in  the  worship  of  God.  Holy 
Water  is  used  not  only  at  the  entrance  of  the  church, 
but  in  many  blessings,  both  in  the  church  and  the 
home.  The  use  of  Holy  Water  is  very  ancient  in  the 
Church,  and  is  probably  derived  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment.® 

Incense.  The  use  of  Incense  is  likewise  an  Old 
Testament  custom  so  beautiful  in  its  significance  that 
the  Church  never  allowed  it  to  be  forgotten.  In 
the  Christian  worship  the  burning  of  Incense  is  of 
course  not  a  sacrifice  but  merely  a  symbol.  It  is 
a  sign  of  prayer  ascending  as  a  sweet  odor  to  God.^ 
This  fragrant  resin  is  burned  in  certain  services 
either  to  express  adoration  of  the  Deity,  which  is 
one  end  of  prayer,  or  to  bless  the  people  and  things 
dedicated  to  religious  use,  since  on  these  the  prayer 
of  petition  calls  down  God's  benediction.  St.  John 
compares  the  prayers  of  the  saints  to  the  perfumes 
of  Incense  about  the  throne  of  God.® 

Vestments.  The  vestments  worn  by  the  clergy  at 
the  altar  are  ancient  forms  of  dress,  adapted  and 
developed  and  full  of  significance.  The  principle 
upon  which  their  like  is  based  is  a  sound  one,  recog- 
nized among  all  people  having  appropriate  dress  for 
special  occasions.  The  mourner  at  a  funeral,  the 
bride  at  a  wedding,  the  soldier  in  the  army,  the 
justice  in  the  supreme  court,  has  each  an  appropriate 
costume.  Vestments  were  used  by  God's  command, 
by  the  priests  serving  in  the  temple  of  the  Old  Law. 
The  dress  assumed  by  the  priests  of  the  New  Law, 
when  entering  the  holier  sanctuary  of  the  Christian 
Church,  reminds  both  themselves  and  the  people  of 
the  sacred  character  of  the  mysteries  that  are  en- 
acted. 

•Num.  19,  17;  8,  7;  Ps.  50.  •Apoc.  8,  3-4;  5,  8. 

'  Ps.  140. 


214  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

Sign  of  the  Cross.  The  Cross  is  the  standard  of 
the  Christian  faith — the  sign  of  salvation.  As  the 
government  flies  its  flag  over  ship  and  port  and  pub- 
lic building,  so  the  Church  crowns  her  steeples, 
her  altars,  and  the  very  tombs  of  her  children,  with 
the  emblem  of  our  hope.  Catholic  people  sanctify 
their  homes  with  the  sacred  symbol.  When  one  sees 
the  crucifix  reverently  hung  on  the  walls  of  a  room, 
he  knows  the  place  is  not  the  home  of  an  infidel. 

From  the  earliest  centuries  the  Christians  blessed 
themselves  with  the  Sign  of  the  Cross,  as  we  learn 
from  Tertullian,  Jerome,  Ambrose,  Atiianasius,  and 
many  other  Fathers.  St.  Basil  (d.  373)  asserts  that 
the  practice  was  introduced  by  the  Apostles.  The 
Sign  of  the  Cross  is  made  by  placing  the  right  hand 
on  the  forehead^  then  on  the  heart  or  breast,  then 
on  the  left  and  finally  on  the  right  shoulder,  thus 
outlining  a  cross  upon  the  body.  This  action  is  ac- 
companied by  the  words:  ^'In  the  name  of  the  Fa- 
ther and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen. ' ' 
These  words  amount  to  a  profession  of  faith  in  the 
triune  God,  while  the  Cross  signifies  our  faith  in  the 
redemption  wrought  by  Jesus  Christ. 

St.  Paul  glories  in  the  Cross  of  Christ.^  It  is 
**the  sign  of  the  Son  of  Man.''  ^^*  The  great  Crucifix 
^et  up  in  many  churches,  depicting  vividly  the 
tragedy  of  Calvary,  silently  preaches  day  and  night 
to  all  who  pass,  and  with  an  awful  and  subduing 
eloquence  that  is  rarely  given  to  the  words  of  men, 
of  *' Christ  and  Christ  crucified." 

Sacramentals.  The  Church  blesses  and  dedicates 
to  religious  use  many  objects  that  will  promote  de- 
votion: such  as  sacred  pictures,  religious  medals, 
and  the  scapulars  which  are  the  badge  of  member- 
ship in  certain  pious  confraternities.  These  things 
are  called  sacramentals.    They  differ  essentially,  of 

•  Gal.   6,   14.  "  Mt.  24.  30. 


PRAYER  215 

course,  from  the  sacraments.  The  sacraments  are 
instituted  by  Christ  himself,  and  if  we  put  no  ob- 
stacle in  their  way,  they  are  unfailing  channels  of 
His  grace.  The  sacramentals  are  instituted  by  the 
Church.  They  belong  rather  to  the  domain  of  dis- 
cipline than  of  faith.  They  are  symbols  useful  to 
suggest  worthy  thoughts.  Their  value  depends  on 
the  pious  intention  of  the  person  who  makes  use  of 
them  and  on  the  prayers  and  blessings  of  the 
Church. 

51.     PRAYER. 

Prayer  is  the  lifting  up  of  the  mind  and  heart  to 
God,  to  adore  Him  as  the  Infinite  Good;  to  thank 
Him  for  His  benefits;  to  seek  His  forgiveness;  and 
to  ask  of  Him  all  the  graces  we  need,  whether  for 
soul  or  body.  By  these  acts  God^s  sovereign  maj- 
esty is  honored ;  and  so  prayer  is  of  its  very  nature 
an  act  of  the  virtue  of  religion.  Sacrifice,  the  most 
eminent  act  of  religion,  is  a  species  of  prayer.  The 
Christian  religion  teaches  men  to  pray  not  alone 
during  the  public  worship  of  God,  but  indeed  at  all 
times.  The  God-man  has  left  both  the  example  and 
precept  of  praying: 

**He  went  up  into  the  mountain  alone  to  pray.*'^ 
'*He  passed  the  whole  night  in  the  prayer  of  God.''  - 
**A11  things  whatsoever  you  shall  ask  in  prayer,  be- 
lieving, you  shall  receive. ' '  ^  "  Watch  ye  and  pray, 
that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation.''*  ''Thus  shall 
you  pray:  Our  Father  who  art  in  Heaven,  etc."^ 
''Pray  without  ceasing."®  "Amen,  I  say  to  you. 
If  you  ask  the  Father  anything  in  my  name,  He  will 
give  it  to  you. ' '  ^ 

How  to  Pray.     At  the  mother's  knee  the  child 

»Mt.   14,  23.  «Mt.  26,  41.  •  I.  Thes.   5,   17. 

'Luke  6,  12.  »Mt.  6,  9.  'John  16,  23. 

»Mt.  21,  22. 


216  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

learns  to  lisp  reverently  the  Holy  Name.  The  youth 
learns  to  ''pray  always'*^  each  morning  offering  to 
God,  through  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  the  day 
with  all  its  works.  The  man  learns  to  pray  even 
without  words,  uniting  himself  in  mind  and  will 
with  the  Father  who  searches  hearts.  Perhaps  he 
bows  his  head  as  did  the  Master  in  the  garden  of 
Geth^emani,  and  says,  "not  my  will  but  Thine  be 
done:"  and  like  the  Master  rises  strengthened  to 
face  any  trial  by  that  hour  of  communion  with  God. 
In  the  stress  of  the  civil  war  Lincoln  said:  ''I  went 
down  on  my  knees  when  there  was  no  place  else  to 
go.'' 

Christians  are  taught  to  pray  with  confidence,  per- 
severance, humility  and  entire  submission  to  the  will 
of  God.  It  may  be  truly  said  that  no  prayer  offered 
under  these  conditions  is  lost.^  As  the  years  pass, 
we  understand  God's  very  kindness  in  not  giving  us 
all  the  temporal  gifts  our  childhood  prayed  for. 
The  prayer  of  petition  is  but  one  form  of  prayer, 
and  not  the  highest  form.  He  that  prays  with  per- 
severance and  submission  to  the  divine  will,  if  he 
gets  not  his  coveted  way,  may  in  time  be  enriched 
with  the  wisdom  to  see  the  superior  blessing  of  God's 
way.  Prayer  for  spiritual  benefits  must  ever  be 
pleasing  to  God. 

Necessity.  To  pray  is  necessary  and  fruitful.  To 
unite  himself  with  God  in  mind  and  will,  would 
have  been  a  natural  duty,  even  if  man  were  not 
raised  to  the  supernatural  state.  If  the  world  did 
not  find  benefit  in  prayer,  it  would  have  long  since 
ceased  to  pray.  Experience  teaches  that  the  virtu- 
ous life  is  invariably  a  life  of  prayer;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  that  the  life  which  is  empty  of  prayer, 
is  soon  filled  with  disorder.  Christ  expressly  char- 
acterizes prayer  as  a  means  of  grace:     ''Watch  ye 

8  Luke  18,  1. 

•Gibbon's,  "Our  Christian  Heritage,"  Ch.  9. 


PRAYER  217 

and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation.**  He 
who  neglects  this  means,  so  forcibly  recommended 
and  so  easily  employed,  cannot  claim  the  necessary 
grace  to  overcome  grievous  temptations  and  to  per- 
severe in  good. 

Daily  Prayer.  Besides  the  prayers  that  may  rise 
spontaneously  from  the  individual  heart.  Catholics 
make  use  of  fixed  forms  of  prayer,  which  like  cer- 
tain poems,  express  worthily  what  the  soul  may  feel 
vaguely  and  be  unable  to  say.  Christ  taught  such 
a  fixed  form  of  prayer  in  the  *'Our  Father."  Rich 
collections  of  prayers  may  be  found  in  any  Catholic 
prayer-book.  The  following  prayers  are  of  the 
greatest  excellence  and  are  generally  recited  daily 
by  Catholic  people. 

The  Sign  of  the  Cross, — ^In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     Amen. 

The  Lord's  Prayer. — Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven,  hal- 
lowed be  Thy  name:  Thy  kingdom  come:  Thy  will  be  done 
on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven.  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread : 
and  forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  those  who  trespass 
against  us.  And  lead  us  not  into  temptation:  but  deliver 
us  from  evil.     Amen. 

The  Angelic  Salutation. — ^Hail,  Mary,  full  of  grace;  the 
Lord  is  with  thee:  ble'ssed  art  thou  among  women,  and 
blessed  is  the  fruit  of  thy  womb,  Jesus.  Holy  Mary,  Mother 
of  God,  pray  for  us  sinners,  npw  and  at  the  hour  of  our 
death. 

The  Creed. — ^I  believe  in  God,  the  Father  Almighty,  Creator 
of  heaven  and  earth;  and  in  Jesus  Christ,  His  only  Son,  our 
Lord:  .who  was  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate,  was  crucified, 
died,  and  was  buried.  He  descended  into  hell;  lo  the  third  day 
He  arose  again  from  the  dead ;  He  ascended  into  heaven,  sit- 
teth  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father  Almighty;  from 
thence  He  shall  come  to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead.  I 
believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,  the  com- 

"Hell  from  Anglo-Saxon  helan.  to  hide — hidden  places  used  to 
translate  the  Latin  *'ad  inferos,"  is  employed  in  the  Creed  not  in  the 
primary  sense  as  the  estate  of  the  wicked  spirits  but  in  a  secondary 
sense  as  the  place  where  the  just  of  the  old  law  awaited  the  Savior 
who  would  open  Heaven.     Cf.  I.   Peter  3,   19;   Act.  2,  27. 


218  THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST 

munion  of  Saints,  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  the  resurrection 
of  the  body,ii  and  the  life  everlasting.     Amen. 

The  Cwifiteor. — I  confess  to  Almighty  God,  to  blessed  Mary 
ever  Virgin,  to  blessed  Michael  the  Archangel,  to  blessed 
John  the  Baptist,  to  the  holy  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and 
to  all  the  Saints,  that  I  have  sinned  exceedingly  in  thought, 
word,  and  deed,  through  my  fault,  through  my  fault,  through 
my  most  grievous  fault.  Therefore  I  beseech  blessed  Mary 
ever  Virgin,  blessed  Michael  the  Archangel,  blessed  John  the 
Baptist,  the  holy  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and  all  the  Saints, 
to  pray  to  the  Lord  our  God  for  me.  May  Almighty  God 
have  mercy  upon  us,  and  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  bring  us 
unto  life  everlasting.  Amen.  May  the  Almighty  and  merciful 
Lord  grant  us  pardon,  absolution,  and  remission  of  our  sins. 
Amen. 

An  Act  of  Faith. — 0  my  God!  I  firmly  believe  all  the 
sacred  truths  which  Thy  Catholic  Church  believes  and 
teaches;  because  Thou  hast  revealed  them,  who  canst  neither 
deceive  nor  be  deceived. 

An  Act  of  Hope. — 0  my  God!  relying  on  Thy  infinite  good- 
ness and  promises,  I  hope  to  obtain  the  pardon  of  my  sins, 
the  assistance  of  Thy  grace,  and  life  everlasting,  through  the 
merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord  and  Savior. 

An  Act  of  Love. — O  my  God!  I  love  Thee  above  all  things, 
with  my  whole  heart  and  soul,  because  thou  art  infinitely 
good  and  deserving  of  all  love.  I  love  my  neighbors  as  my- 
self for  the  love  of  Thee.  I  forgive  all  who  have  injured  me, 
and  I  ask  pardon  of  all  whom  I  have  injured. 

An  Act  of  Contrition. — 0  my  God!  I  am  most  heartily 
sorry  for  all  my  sins;  and  I  detes£  them  above  all  things, 
because  I  dread  the  loss  of  heaven  and  the  pains  of  hell, 
but  most  of  all  because  thej^  offend  Thee,  my  God,  who  art 
•all  good  and  deserving  of  all  my  love.  I  firmly  resolve,  with 
the  help  of  Thy  grace,  never  more  to  offend  Thee;  but  to 
confess  my  sins,  to  avoid  their  occasion,  to  do  penance  and 
amend  my  life.    Amen. 

The  Rosary.  A  favorite  form  of  popular  devotion 
is  the  Rosary.  It  consists  of  fifteen  meditations  on 
the  life  of  our  Lord,  each  of  which  is  accompanied 
by  vocal  prayers;  viz.,  the  ''Our  Father,"  10  ''Hail 
Mary 's ' '  and  the ' '  Glory  be  to  the  Father. ' '  A  chain 
of  beads  is  used  to  count  the  repeated  prayers.  The 
titles  of  the  mysteries  or  meditations  are  as  follows : 

"L  Cor.  15. 


PRAYER  219 

I. — The  Five  Joyful  Mysteries: 

1.  The  Annunciation. 

2.  The  Visitation. 

3.  The  Nativity. 

4.  The  Presentation. 

^.  The  Finding  in  the  Temple. 

II. — ^The  Five  Soreowful  Mysteries: 

1.  The  Agony  in  the  Garden. 

2.  The  Scourging  at  the  Pillar. 

3.  The  Crowning  with  Thorns. 

4.  The  Carrying  of  the  Cross. 
6.  The  Crucifixion. 

III. — The  Five  Glorious  Mysteries: 

1.  The  Resurrection. 

2.  The  Ascension. 

3.  Coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  the  Apostles, 

4.  The  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

5.  The  Coronation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

CONFESSION— THE  CHRISTIAN  IN 

SIN 

52.    SIN  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES. 

Though  God  is  the  infinite  good  and  has  shown 
His  bounty  to  man  by  wonderfully  creating  our  hu- 
man nature  and  still  more  wonderfully  elevating  it 
to  supernatural  union  with  Himself,  it  is  a  sad  fact 
that  man  turns  away  from  God  and  deliberately  runs 
counter  to  the  divine  law.     This  is  sin. 

The  moral  law  is  expressed  in  the  Decalogue  or 
Ten  Commandments.  This  code  whose  wisdom,  sim- 
plicity and  comprehensiveness  alike  suggest  its  di- 
vine origin,  points  out  the  right  social  and  religious 
relations  of  the  individual  to  his  fellow-man  and  to 
his  God. 

The  Ten  Commandments.  Tfee  following  is  the 
common  form  of  the  Decalogue  or  Ten  Command- 
ments of  God.^ 

1.  I  am  the  Lord  Thy  God,  Who  brought  thee  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondage. 

Thou  shalt  not  have  strange  gods  before  me. 
Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thyself  a  graven  thing,  nor 
the  likeness  of  anything  that  is  in  heaven  above,  or 
in  the  earth  beneath,  nor  of  those  things  that  are  in 
the  waters  under  the  earth:  thou  shalt  not  adore 
them  nor  serve  them. 

*  Ex.  20 ;  Deut.  5.  The  original  numbering  of  the  precepts  is  not 
certain. 

220 


SIN  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  221 

2.  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  Thy 
God  in  vain. 

3.  Remember  that  thou  keep  holy  the  Sabbath  day. 

4.  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother. 

5.  Thou  shalt  not  kill. 

6.  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery. 

7.  Thou  shalt  not  steal. 

8.  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness  against  thy 
neighbor. 

9.  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's  wife. 
10.  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's  goods. 

What  is  Sin.  The  Commandments  are  written  in 
the  heart  of  man  as  well  as  on  the  stone  tables  of 
Mt.  Sinai.  St.  Paul  says  that  even  the  heathens 
''show  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts, 
their  conscience  bearing  witness  to  them."  ^  In  His 
commandments  God  reveals  to  man  the  way  of  life 
and  happiness.  Apart  from  it  being  the  law  of  God, 
if  we  may  suppose  such  a  thing,  it  would  still  be  the 
highest  wisdom  to  love  God  above  all  things  and  our 
neighbor  as  oui'selves:  while  to  do  the  things  which 
the  moral  law  forbids  would  be  the  most  miserable 
folly.  But,  as  God  has  promulgated  the  Command- 
ments as  His  positive  law,  their  transgression  is  not 
merely  a  folly  contrary  to  our  own  reason  and  wel- 
fare, but  a  rebellion  against  the  divine  lawgiver  who 
as  our  Creator  commands  our  obedience.  Sin  is  the 
willful  transgression  of  the  divine  law.  Sin  is  a  dis- 
obedience; a  rebellion  against  God;  an  offense 
against  the  divine  Lord  and  Master.  It  is  not 
merely  a  natural  manifestation  of  man's  limited  pow- 
ers :  on  the  contrary,  it  is  repugnant  and  derogatory 
to  human  nature.  It  is  a  repetition  of  Lucifer's  de- 
fiant: "I  shall  not  serve."  It  is  the  free  will  of  an 
intelligent  creature  opposing  itself  to  the  law  of  its 
Creator.     In  sin  man  turns  from  God,  his  proper 

«Rom.  2,  14-15. 


222  CONFESSION 

end ;  and  chooses  a  contrary  object  for  his  love  and 
service. 

Precepts  of  the  Church.  Under  divine  law  may 
be  comprised  not  only  the  immediate  law  of  God, 
but  also  His  mediate  or  indirect  ordinances.  The 
civil  law,  in  as  much  as  it  is  not  contrary  to  the  di- 
vine will,  obliges  in  conscience.  The  laws  made  by 
the  lawful  authority  of  the  Church  are  ratified  in 
Heaven.^  The  precepts  of  the  Church  are  not  dif- 
ferent from  the  Commandments  of  God  so  much  as 
they  are  explanations  or  developments  of  the  com- 
mandments, or  point  out  duties  that  have  their  roots 
in  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  Decalogue.  The 
chief  precepts  of  the  Church  are: 

1.  To  keep  the  Sundays  and^Holy-days  of  obliga- 
tion holy,  by  hearing  Mass  and  resting  from  servile 
works. 

2.  To  observe  the  days  of  fasting  and  abstinence 
appointed  by  the  Church. 

3.  To  go  to  confession  at  least  once  a  year. 

4.  To  receive  the  Blessed  Sacrament  at  least  once 
a  year,  and  that  at  Easter  or  thereabouts. 

5.  To  contribute  to  the  support  of  Religion. 

6.  Not  to  marry  within  certain  degrees  of  kindred, 
nor  to  solemnize  marriage  at  forbidden  times. 

Sin  opposes  itself  to  the  natural  cardinal  virtues 
of  Justice,  Fortitude,  Wisdom  and  Temperance :  and 
to  the  supernatural  theological  or  divine  virtues  of 
Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity:  which  are  the  founda- 
tion of  our  right  living  with  God  and  man,  and 
which  the  laws  of  God  and  His  Church  inculcate. 

Capital  Sins.  The  seven  capital  sins  are  so  called 
because  they  are,  as  it  were,  seven  sources  from 
which  all  other  sins  flow.  The  capital  sins  with  the 
contrary  virtues  are: 

»Mt.  16,  19. 


SIN  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  223 


Pride. 

Humility 

Covetousness. 

Liberality. 

Lust. 

Chastity. 

Anger. 

Meekness. 

Gluttony. 

Temperance. 

Envy. 

Brotherly  Love. 

Sloth. 

Diligence. 

According  to  various  points  of  view,  sins  are  also 
divided  into  sins  of  omission  and  commission;  sins 
against  God,  against  our  neighbor,  against  ourselves; 
internal  and  external  sins,  etc. 

Virtue  and  Vice.  As  frequent  repetition  of  an 
action  begets  a  habit,  the  practice  of  good  deeds 
develops  moral  virtue  while  the  practice  of  evil 
deeds  ends  in  vice.  A  habit  is  defined  as  a  tendency 
to  do  a  thing  and  an  ease  in  doing  it,  arising  from 
having  done  it  often.  It  is  a  common  truth  that 
habit  becomes  as  a  second  nature.  It  is  a  growth. 
A  single  sinful  action  does  not  constitute  a  vice :  nor 
does  one  good  deed  make  a  virtue.  As  a  habit  is 
not  acquired  in  a  day,  neither  is  it  destroyed  all  at 
once.  The  skillful  pianist,  the  successful  athlete,  the 
able  orator  have  given  time  and  trouble  to  their  re- 
spective arts.  So  the  virtuous  man  has  patiently 
built  up  his  noble  character.  On  the  other  hand, 
little  by  little  a  vice  grows  on  a  man  until  it  waxes 
so  strong  that  at  last  it  holds  its  victim  in  slave- 
chains.  Sailors  in  the  navy  sleeping  close  to  the 
cannon,  become  so  accustomed  to  its  noise,  that  it 
finally  no  longer  disturbs  their  slumbers.  So  the 
habitual  sinner  becomes  callous  to  the  shock  of  sin, 
and  deaf  to  the  voice  of  conscience.  To  this  extent 
his  nature  is  perverted.     Evil  has  become  his  good. 

Mortal  and  Venial  Sin.  There  are  degrees  in  sin 
as  there  are  in  the  guilt  of  civil  crime  or  in  th^  seri- 
ousness  of  bodily   disease.     The  infraction   of  the 


224  CONFESSION 

physical  law  may  bring  with  it  a  little  suffering 
or  it  may  bring  death.  The  civil  law  distinguishes 
between  petty  offenses  and  heinous  felonies.  Even 
in  a  case  of  murder,  the  court  takes  account  of  the 
culprit's  intentions  and  circumstances  before  judg- 
ing of  the  extent  of  his  guilt.  In  the  order  .of  mor- 
als, where  guilt  or  innocence  is  a  matter  of  the  mind 
and  will,  even  more  than  of  the  overt  act,  the 
Church  distinguishes  not  alone  different  degrees  but 
also  different  kinds  of  sin. 

Sin  may  be  mortal  or  venial.  Mortal  sin  is  an  of- 
fense against  the  law  of  God  in  an  important  mat- 
ter, committed  with  sufficient  reflection  and  full  con- 
sent of  the  will.  The  matter  may  be  important  in 
itself,  or  in  its  circumstances.  For  the  transgression 
to  be  perfectly  deliberate  and  entail  complete  re- 
sponsibility, the  gravity  of  the  action  must  be  known 
and  the  consent  of  the  will  must  be  perfect.  Mor- 
tal sin  receives  the  name  mortal  or  deadly,  from  its 
effect;  namely  the  destruction  of  the  supernatural 
life  of  the  soul. 

Venial  sin  is  so  called  because  it  is  more  easily 
pardoned,  since  it  does  not  destroy  the  life  of  grace 
and  the  friendship  of  God.  Venial  sin  is  an  offense 
against  the  law  of  God  in  a  slight  matter:  or  in  a 
serious  matter  it  is  an  offense  committed  without 
sufficient  reflection  or  full  consent  of  the  will.  The 
transgression  is  not  perfectly  willful  when  either 
the  necessary  knowledge  of  the  sin  and  its  gravity  or 
the  perfect  consent  of  the  will  is  wanting. 

Mortal  or  grievous  sin  includes  in  its  nature  not 
only  the  turning  of  man  to  creatures,  but  also  his 
turning  away  from  God,  his  last  end.  Venial  sin, 
while  it  includes  an  immoderate  attachment  to  crea- 
tures, does  not  imply  an  aversion  from  God,  our  last 
end.  p  As  among  men  not  every  offense  destroys 
friendship,  neither  does  every  offense  against  God 


SIN  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  225 

destroy  the  divine  friendship  which  is  based  on  sanc- 
tifying grace.  Holy  Scripture  distinguishes  be- 
tween venial  and  grievous  sins ;  between  faults  that 
leave  us  still  friends  of  God  and  that  separate  us 
from  Him.  St.  James  writes:  '*In  many  things 
we  all  offend."*  The  imperfections  of  a  St.  James 
are  very  different  from  the  heinous  crimes  of  which 
St.  Paul  writes:  *' Neither  fornicators,  nor  idola- 
ters, nor  adulterers  • .  .  shall  possess  the  'Kingdom 
of  Heaven."^ 

Consequences  of  Sin.  The  consequence  of  sin  is 
not  merely  the  evil  effects  which  are  associated  with 
the  very  nature  of  the  actions  committed,  such  as 
the  loss  of  honor  or  health  or  possessions.  It  is  not 
merely  natural  and  temporal.  The  worst  sinners 
may  have  wealth  and  beauty  and  high  places.  The 
formal  consequence  of  grievous  sin  is  the  separation 
of  4;he  sinner  from  God ;  his  guilt  of  malice  against 
the  supreme  majesty ;  and  his  liability  to  the  punish- 
ments which  are  the  sanction  of  the  divine  law.  Its 
separation  from  God  is  the  soul's  spiritual  death. 
The  sanctifying  grace  which  was  given  to  the  soul 
in  Baptism  and  increased  in  the  reception  of  the 
other  sacraments,  is  lost.  The  gift  of  supernatural 
life  is  forfeited.  No  longer  an  adopted  child  of 
God,  the  soul  is  no  longer  an  heir  to  Heaven.  Sepa- 
rated from  God,  its  place  in  eternity  is  hell.  Sin  is 
evil,  indeed. 

*'If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life,  keep  the  command- 
ments."^ 

''Not  every  one  that  saith  to  me.  Lord,  shall  enter 
into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  but  he  that  doth  the 
will  of  my  Father,  he  shall  enter  into  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven."  ^ 

*'The  wages  of  sin  is  death."  * 

*Ja8.  3,  2.  «Mt.   19,   17.  •Rom.   6,   23. 

»I.  Cor.  6,  9-10.  »Mt.  7,   21. 


226  CONFESSION 

''If  you  live  according  to  the  flesh,  you  shall 
die.''« 

''The  fearful,  and  unbelieving,  and  abominable, 
and  murderers,  and  whoremongers,  and  sorcerers, 
and  idolaters,  and  liars,  they  shall  have  their  por- 
tion in  the  pool  burning  with  fire  and  brimstone, 
which  is  the  second  death.  "^° 

"Let  not  sin  reign  in  your  mortal  body  so  as  to 
obey  the  lust  thereof.  Neith#  yield  your  members 
as  instruments  of  iniquity  unto  sin.  For  sin  shall 
not  have  dominion  over  you.  What  fruit  had  you 
then  in  those  things  of  which  you  are  now  ashamed  ? 
For  the  end  of  them  is  death. ' '  ^^ 

53.    CONFESSION  AND  PARDON  OP  SIN. 

Is  there  any  hope  for  the  Christian  who  is  dead 
in  sin?  Has  Jesus  Christ  left  a  sacrament  of  mercy 
to  restore  spiritual  life  to  the  soul,  whose  baptismal 
character  betrays  that  it  has  sinned  even  after  hav- 
ing known  and  received  the  grace  of  redemption? 
The  mercy  of  the  Savior  and  His  knowledge  of 
weak  human  nature  might  well  lead  us  to  expect 
to  find  in  the  Church  by  which  Christ  applies  His 
redemption  to  the  individual  soul,  a  sacrament  des- 
tined to  bring  sanctifying  grace  and  the  assurance 
of  pardon  to  the  fallen  Christian.  And  our  expecta- 
tion is  not  in  vain.  The  power  of  bringing  peace  to 
the  soul  by  loosing  the  fetters  of  sin,  has  been  prom- 
ised to  the  Apostles :  ^ 

""Whatsoever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth,  shall  be 
bound  in  Heaven :  and  whatsoever  ye  shall  loose  on 
earth  shall  be  loosed  also  in  Heaven/* 

Sacrament  of  Pardon.  After  the  Resurrection 
Jesus  instituted  the  sacrament  of  pardon  and  em- 

oRom.  8,   13.  .  "Rom.  6,   12-21. 

i»Apoc.  21,  8.  ^Mt.  18,  18. 


^  PARDON  OP  SIN  227 

powered  His  Apostles  to  act  as  its  ministers.     St. 
John  records  the  history  of  the  institution.^^ 

*'Now,  when  it  was  late  that  same  day,  the 
first  of  the  week,  and  the  doors  were  shut  where  the 
disciples  were  gathered  together  for  fear  of  the  Jews; 
Jesus  came  and  stood  in  the  midst  of  them  and  said 
to  them:  *  Peace  be  to  you.'  And  when  He  said 
this  He  showed  them  His  hands  and  His  side.  The 
disciples  were  glad  therefore  when  they  saw  the 
Lord.     He  said  therefore  to  them  again: 

*'  'Peace  be  to  you.    As  the  Father  hath 
sent  Me,  I  also  send  you.' 

' '  When  He  had  said  this,  He  breathed  on  them  and  ^ 
said  to  them: 

''  'RECEIVE  YE  THE  HOLY  GHOST, 
WHOSE  SINS  YE  SHALL  FORGIVE, 
THEY  ARE  FORGIVEN  THEM:  WHOSE 
SINS  YE  SHALL  RETAIN,  THEY  ARE 
RETAINED.'  " 

Power  Remains.  By  the  will  of  Christ,  the  power 
to  forgive  sins  belongs  henceforth  to  the  apostolic 
office.  It  was  not  to  cease  wnth  the  death  of  the 
first  Apostles,  any  more  than  the  power  to  baptize 
or  celebrate  the  Holy  Eucharist,  but  was  to  continue 
forever  in  their  successors.  The  Sacraments  were  in- 
stituted for  the*  sake  of  men.  They  are  part  of  the 
Church's  equipment  to  carry  on  the  work  of  Christ 
in  the  world.  They  were  given  not  only  for  the  first 
ages  but  for  all  time.  As  long  as  sin  will  last  in  the 
world,  the  remedy  of  sin  will  last  in  the  Church. 
St.  Paul,  though  not  one  of  the  original  twelve 
Apostles,  calls  himself  an  ambassador  of  Christ  in 
the  ministry  of  reconciliation:  ''All  things  are  of 
God  who  hath  reconciled  us  to  Himself  by  Christ, 

•John  20,  19-23. 


228  CONFESSION  ^ 

and  hath  given  to  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation. 

For  God  indeed  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world 
to  Himself;  not  imputing  to  them  their  sins;  and 
He  hath  placed  in  us  the  word  of  reconciliation. 
For  Christ  therefore  are  we  ambassadors. ' '  ^ 

Since  the  days  of  St.  Paul,  the  successors  of  the 
Apostles  have  exercised  "^the  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion*' as  an  ordinary  function  of  their  priesthood. 
The  power  of  forgiving  sins  is  inherent  in  the  priest- 
hood. To  His  priests  alone  has  Christ  given  the 
commission:  ^'As  the  Father  hath  sent  me,  I  also 
send  you."  As  the  power  to  forgive  or  retain  is  a 
judicial  power,  the  valid  administration  of  the  Sac- 
rament of  Penance  requires  not  only  priestly  ordi- 
nation but  also  jurisdiction.  The  necessary  faculties 
are  given  by  the  Bishop  to  priests  whom  he  wishes 
to  exercise  the  office  of  confessor  in  his  diocese. 

All  Sin  Pardonable.  The  power  to  forgive  sins 
in  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  extends  to  all  sins  com- 
mitted after  Baptism.  The  words  of  Christ,  'Svhose 
sins  you  shall  forgive  they  are  forgiven  them,"  are 
of  a  general  nature  admitting  of  no  exception.  In 
reference  to  certain  passages  of  Scripture  that  seem 
to  convey  that  some  sins  cannot  be  forgiven,  suffice 
it  to  remark  that  nowhere  is  the  impossibility  on 
the  part  of  God,  to  forgive  sins,  asserted:  it  may  be 
impossible  on  the  part  of  the  sinner;  and  it  is  im- 
possible as  long  as  he  remains  impenitent  and  resists 
all  external  and  internal  graces.  In  this  sense 
Christ's  words  to  the  Pharisees  are  to  be  under- 
stood: *'A  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  will  not  be 
forgiven."  When  the  conversion  of  the  sinner  is 
said  to  be  impossible,  we  are  to  understand  not  a 
strict  impossibility  but  a  difficulty  which,  owing  to 
the  perversity  of  the  sinner,  will  rarely,  if  ever,  be 
overcome:  as  when  the  Pharisees  refused  to  believe 

•II.  Cor.  5,  18-20. 


PARDON  OF  SIN  229 

in  Christ  even  in  the  face  of  Heaven's  own  evidence. 

Confession  Necessary.  The  power  of  administer- 
ing the  Sacrament  of  Penance  granted  to  the  Church 
is  a  judicial  power,  and  its  exercise  is  a  judicial  act. 
The  commission  is  to  forgive  sin  or  to  retain  sin: 
to  send  the  sinner  on  his  way  pardoned  and  with  the 
assurance  of  forgiveness ;  or  to  dismiss  him  with  the 
warning  that  his  sins  still  burden  his  soul.  A  ju- 
dicial act  necessarily  supposes  that  the  judge  is  in- 
formed of  the  case  in  which  he  is  to  pronounce  sen- 
tence. But  the  matter  on  which  the  priest  is  to 
pronounce  sentence  is  sin;  not  only  public  sins,  nor 
only  external  actions,  but  even  the  most  secret  sins 
of  thought  and  desire.  And  the  apostolic  judge 
must  forgive  these  sins  or  he  must  retain  them.  The 
priest  is  not  empowered  to  give  absolution  to  every- 
one indiscriminately.  He  must  forgive  or  retain 
with  judgment  and  discretion;  not  according  to  his 
own  will  or  fancy,  but  according  to  the  sinner's 
disposition.  He  must  absolve  the  sinner  whom  he 
finds  fulfilling  all  the  conditions  of  true  repentance. 
The  impenitent  who  will  not  be  converted,  the  priest 
must  send  away  unshriven.  The  priest  cannot  judge 
of  the  disposition  of  the  sinner  or  properly  direct 
him,  unless  he  knows  his  sins.  And  he  cannot  know 
them  unless  the  sinner  confesses  them.  Therefore 
the  power  of  forgiving  or  retaining  sins,  granted  by 
Christ  to  the  Church,  implies  the  necessity  of  self- 
accusation  on  the  part  of  the  sinner.  Hence  the 
confession  of  sins  is  of  divine  origin. 

Spiritual  Physician.  In  the  confessional  the 
priest  is  also  the  physician  of  souls.  The  sick  man 
exposes  to  the  physician  the  weaknesses  and  diseases 
of  his  body,  that  the  proper  remedies  may  be  ap- 
plied to  them  and  the  proper  advice  may  be  given. 
Similarly  the  sinner  reveals  to  the  spiritual  physi- 
cian the  state  of  his  soul,  that  the  priest  may  apply 


230  CONFESSION 

to  this  particular  soul  the  medicine  of  sal- 
vation and  the  helpful  guidance  that  it  needs. 
As  the  physician  achieves  his  best  results  not  by 
the  general  advice  given  to  a  mixed  assembly  from 
the  lecture  platform,  but  by  the  personal  work  of 
the  siek-room;  so  the  priest  accomplishes  the  most 
immediate  and  practical  good  not  in  the  pulpit  but 
in  the  confessional.  In  the  confessional  the  priest 
speaks  directly  to  the  soul  about  itself.  There  the 
soul  is  honest,  as  it  is  nowhere  else  in  the  world. 
There  is  no  respect  of  persons  to  embarrass  the  .spir- 
itual physician  and  tie  his  tongue.  The  name  of 
the  penitent  need  not  be  known.  His  face  need  not 
be  seen.  The  priest  in  the  confessional  meets  him 
only  as  a  Christian  seeking  spiritual  help. 

In  the  confessional  the  young  are  saved  from 
their  own  ignorance  and  weakness  which  might  oth- 
erwise bring  them  later  on  to  the  physician  as  phys- 
ical wrecks.  The  drunkard  is  given  the  pledge. 
The  thief  is  commanded  to  restore  his  ill-gotten 
goods.  The  libertine  is  obliged,  as  a  condition  of 
pardon,  to  avoid  the  occasion  of  his  sins.  Evil  prac- 
tices which  would  pervert  whole  schools  are  de- 
tected and  eradicated.  Means  of  ^persevering  in 
good  resolutions  are  pointed  out.  The  rights  of  the 
unborn  child  are  defended.  Consciences  are  edu- 
cated. Difficult  cases  are  settled  wherein  the  ex- 
pert is  needed  to  say  just  where  right  and  duty  lie. 
Innocence  is  preserved  against  the  snares  that  are 
set  in  its  way  and  whose  danger  it  might  realize 
only  too  late.  Good  souls  receive  spiritual  direc- 
tion, teaching  them  to  overcome  even  little  faulte 
and  to  rise  from  virtue  to  virtue,  to  the  heights  of 
Christian  perfection. 

Pruits  of  Confession.  The  law  of  the  Church  re- 
quires that  Catholics  go  to  confession  at  least  once 
a  year.     Confession,  like  Baptism,  is  called  a  sacra- 


THE  CONFESSIONAL  231 

ment  of  the  dead,  because  it  can  be  received  by  those 
who  are  dead  in  sin,  as  a  means  of  their  spiritual  re- 
surrection. Into  the  spiritually  dead,  with  sanctify- 
ing grace  the  sacrament  infuses  supernatural  life. 
It  remits  sins  and  the  eternal  punishment  due  to 
mortal  sins.  But  one  need  not  be  in  mortal  sin  in 
order  to  go  to  confession.  Many  pious  souls  go  fery 
frequently  to  confession,  as  a  means  of  avoiding 
grievous  sin  and  overcoming  venial  faults;  of  ob- 
taining spiritual  direction ;  of  receiving  an  increase 
of  sanctifying  grace ;  and  as  a  preparation  for  Holy 
Communion,  being  mindful  of  the  words  of  St. 
Paul:*  **Let  a  man  prove  himself  and  so  let  him 
eat  of  that  bread  and  drink  of  the  cup.'* 

54.    A  PEEP  INTO  THE  CONFESSIONAL. 

The  catechism  defines  Penance  or  Confession,  as 
a  Sacrament  in  which  the  priest,  as  the  representa- 
tive of  God,  forgives  sins  committed  after  Baptism, 
to  those  sinners  who  are  truly  penitent,  sincerely 
confess  their  sins  and  are  ready  to  perform  the 
works  of  penance  imposed  by  the  confessor. 

Examination  of  Conscience.  The  sinner  begins 
his  preparation  for  confession  by  praying  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  for  the  grace  to  know  his  sins  and  the 
Borrow  to  detest  them.  He  examines  his  conscience, 
scrutinizing  his  thoughts,  words  and  deeds  in  the 
light  of  the  divine  law,  and  thus  endeavors  to  know 
the  number  and  kind  of  his  sinful  actions  and  the 
nature  and  duration  of  his  evil  habits. 

Contrition.  He  must  have  contrition  for  his  sins. 
Contrition  is  a  detestation  and  sorrow  for  the  sins 
committed,  combined  with  a  firm  resolution  to  sin 
no  more.  The  necessity  of  contrition  is  taught  in 
all  those  passages  of  Scripture  wherein  the  sinner  is 

*T.  Cor.  11,  28. 


232  CONFESSION 

exhorted  to  repent  in  order  to  obtain  pardon  of  his 
sins.  If  the  sinner  is  to  be  converted,  to  return 
again  to  God,  he  must  turn  away  with  horror  from 
that  which  separates  him  from  God.  He  must  have 
true  sorrow  for  that  which  is  the  greatest  of  evils 
and  most  hateful  to  God.  By  this  sorrow  and  detes- 
tatBwi  he  crushes,  as  it  were,  the  innate  pride  con- 
tained in  every  revolt  against  God.  "A  contrite 
and  humbled  heart,  0  Lord,  thou  shalt  not  despise. '^ 

Contrition  must  include  the  purpose  of  amend- 
ment— the  earnest  will  to  amend  one's  life  and  sin 
no  more.  For  what  one  hates  and  detests  he  like- 
wise shuns  and  flees.  The  purpose  of  amendment 
includes  the  will  to  avoid  the  proximate  occasions 
of  sin — any  person,  place  or  thing  which  proves  an 
occasion  in  which  one  is  likely  to  sin.  For  he  who 
desires  the  end,  desires  also  the  means.  *'He  that 
loves  the  danger  shall  perish  in  it.^' 

Qualities  of  Contrition.  The  sorrow  for  sin  and 
the  purpose  of  amendment  required  for  the  Sacra- 
ment of  Penance,  must  be  internal  and  sincere,  not 
merely  on  the  lips  but  in  the  heart.  *'Rend  your 
hearts  and  not  your  garments."  The  sorrow  must 
be  universal,  extending  to  all  mortal  sin.  For  as 
long  as  the  heart  clings  to  one  mortal  sin  or  is  not 
determined  to  avoid  all  mortal  sins,  it  cannot  turn 
to  God.  The  sorrow  must  be  sovereign.  The  sin- 
ner must  grieve  more  for  having  offended  God  than 
for  any  other  evil  that  can  befall  him.  Finally  the 
sorrow  must  be  supernatural.  It  must  proceed  from 
grace  and  rest  on  the  supernatural  motives  of  faith. 
Such  motives  are  the  loss  of  sanctifying  grace,  of 
heaven,  and  of  the  friendship  of  God;  or  the  fear 
of  hell  or  purgatory :  they  are  not  the  merely  natural 
consequences  of  sin,  such  as  the  loss  of  temporal 
goods,  honor,  health,  or  liberty. 

This  supernatural  sorrow  with  its  accompanying 


THE  CONFESSIONAL 


233 


resolution,  may  have  for  its  motive  the  perfect  love 
of  God  for  His  own  sake.  This  is  perfect  contri- 
tion. Perfect  contrition  flowing  from  perfect  love 
of  God  suffices  for  the  justification  of  the  sinner. 
Meditation  on  the  Passion  of  Christ  often  helps  one 
to  elicit  an  act  of  perfect  contrition.  As  the  Bap- 
tism of  desire  includes  at  least  implicitly  the  will  to 
receive  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism — such  being  the 
will  of  God ;  so  perfect  contrition  includes  explicitly 
ec  implicitly  the  w^ill  to  receive  the  Sacrament  of 
Penance. 

The  supernatural  sorrow  and  resolution  may  have 
for  their  motive  the  loss  of  Heaven  and  the  fear  of 
the  punishment  due  to  sin.  This  is  attrition.  This 
imperfect  or  less  perfect  contrition  suffices  for  the 
valid  reception  of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance. 


Analysis  of  Act  of  Contrition. 

1.  0  my  God, 

2.  I  am  most  heartily 
sorry, 

3.  For  all  my  sins, 

4.  I  detest  them  above 
all  things 

5.  because  I  dread  the 
loss  of  heaven  and  the 
pains  of  hell, 

6.  but  especially  be- 
cause they  displease 
Thee,  my  God,  who  art 
the  Infinite  Good  and 
worthy  of  all  love. 

7.  I  firmly  resolve  with 
the  help  of  Thy  grace, 
never  more  to  offend 
Thee, 


1.  Addressed  to  God. 

2.  Interior. 

3.  Universal. 

4.  Sovereign. 

5.  Motives    of    Attri- 
tion. 

6.  Motives  of  Perfect 
Contrition. 


7.  Resolution  for  fu- 
ture. 


234  CONFESSION 

8.  but  to  confess  my  8.  Part  of  God's  law. 
sins, 

9.  to  avoid  their  occa-  9.  Means  to  end. 
sion, 

10.  to  make  satisfac-  10.  Works  lOf  penance 
tion  imposed. 

11.  and       amend       my  11.  Changed  life, 
life. 

The  Confessional.  Having  made  his  preparatipn 
for  confession,  the  penitent  presents  himself  at  the 
confessional  chair.  The  confessional  is  erected  in  a 
public  place  in  the  church.  The  partition  between 
the  priest  and  penitent  is  provided  with  a  screen  or 
lattice-work  of  wood  or  metal,  through  which  they 
speak.  After  stating  the  time  of  his  last  confession 
and  whether  or  not  he  received  absolution,  the  peni- 
tent recites  the  Confiteor  or  at  least  the  words:  I 
confess  to  Almighty  God  and  to  you,  father,  that  I 
have  sinned.  He  then  proceeds  to  confess  his  sins, 
mentioning  at  least  all  the  mortal  sins  he  has  com- 
mitted, as  he  discovered  them  in  the  examination  of 
conscience.  If  there  are  no  mortal  sins,  he  men- 
tions venial  sins,  for  which  he  must  elicit  contrition. 
The  revelation  of  conscience  must  be  humble,  sincere 
and  entire.  If  the  penitent  knowingly  conceals  a 
mortal  sin,  the  confession  is  not  only  worthless  but 
sacrilegious. 

If  necessary  the  priest  will  assist  the  penitent  by 
prudent  questions.  The  accusation  of  sins  being 
finished,  the  priest  gives  the  penitent  such  admoni- 
tion and  direction  as  seem  proper.  If  the  priest 
finds  the  penitent  well  disposed,  he  imposes  upon 
him  a  salutary  work  of  penance  and  gives  him  abso- 
lution, repeating  the  following  words : 

Absolution.     * '  May  the  Almighty  God  have  mercy 


THE  CONFESSIONAL  235 

upon  thee,  and  forgive  thee  thy  sins  and  bring  thee 
unto  life  everlasting.     Amen. 

**May  the  Almighty  and  merciful  Lord  grant  thee 
pardon,  absolution,  and  forgiveness  of  thy  sins. 
Amen. 

''May  our  Lord  Jesus  Chrits  absolve  thee,  and  I, 
by  His  authority,  absolve  thee  from  every  bond  of 
excommunication  and  interdict,  in  as  much  as  in  my 
power  lieth  and  thou  standest  in  need.  Finally  I 
absolve  thee  from  thy  sins,  in  the  name  of  the  Fa- 
ther, and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Amen.'' 

After  Confession.  While  the  priest  gives  him  ab- 
solution the  sinner  repeats  his  act  of  contrition.  If 
the  sacrament  Jias  been  worthily  received,  the  peni- 
tent, however  great  may  have  been  his  sins,  leaves 
the  confessional  forgiven.  His  sins  are  washed 
away.  The  eternal  punishment  of  hell,  which  is  the 
just  due  of  every  mortal  sin,  is  remitted.  By  sanc- 
tifying grace  the  soul  is  raised  from  spiritual  death 
to  supernatural  life  and  is  once  more  holy  and  pleas- 
ing to  God.  The  creature  is  again  adopted  to  the 
divine  sonship  and  made  an  heir  to  heaven. 

In  due  time  after  confession  the  penitent  is  ex- 
pected to  perform  the  works  of  penance  imposed  on 
him  by  the  confessor — generally  the  recitation  of 
certain  prayers.  .  These  good  works  do  not,  of 
course,  destroy  mortal  sin  or  its  guilt.  Only  God's 
grace  can  do  that.  They  are  imposed  as  a  remedy 
against  relapse,  as  a  means  of  amendment  and  as  a 
punishment  to  satisfy  for  the  temporal  punishment 
which  is  not  necessarily  nor  always  remitted  with 
the  eternal  punishment  due  to  sin.^ 

1  See  article"  on  Indulgences  under  No.  56. 


236  CONFESSION 

65.     OBJECTIONS   TO    CONFESSION  AN- 
SWERED. 

In  the  light  of  what  has  been  said  of  the  institu- 
tion of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  by  Jesus  Christ 
and  its  use  by  Christian  people,  we  may  now  judge 
the  worth  of  the  objections  commonly  made  against 
the  practice  of  Confession. 

Objection  1.  **No  man  can  forgive  sins  but  only 
God." 

Answer  1.  The  Apostles  were  men.  Christ  said 
to  the  Apostles ;  **  "Whose  sins  you  shall  forgive,  they 
are  forgiven  them."  It  is  true  that  no  man  can 
forgive  sins  by  his  own  natural  power.  But  no 
priest  claims  to  forgive  sins  by  his  own  natural 
power;  but  by  the  power  of  God,  as  an  ** ambassador 
of  Christ  in  the  ministry  of  reconciliation."  If  God 
gives  men  power  to  forgive  sins,  then  men  can  for- 
give sins.  The  objector  says  that  no  man  can 
forgive  sins.  Christ  says  that  certain  men  can  for- 
give sins.     "Whom  shall  we  believe? 

Objection  2.  **I  need  not  confess  to  the  priest. 
I  go  directly  to  God.     He  can  forgive  me." 

Answer  2.  If  you  refuse  to  receive  the  Sacrament 
of  Baptism,  which  Christ  has  left  in  His  Church,  will 
God,  at  your  demand,  baptize  you  directly?  Pen- 
ance, as  well  as  Baptism,  is  a  divine  ordinance.  To 
refuse  to  use  either  sacrament  is  to  refuse  to  con- 
form to  the  divine  will.  God  can  forgive.  But  will 
God  forgive  the  sinner  who  proudly  disdains  His 
law  and  wants  to  dictate  the  terms  of  peace  by 
which  he  will  be  reconciled  to  the  Almighty?  The 
sinner  should  be  glad  to  receive  pardon,  on  any 
terms  that  God  ordains.  Had  the  lepers  in  the  Gos- 
pel ^  refused  to  go  and  show  themselves  to  the 
priests  as  Christ  commanded  them,  think  you  they 

»J.uke  17,   14. 


OBJECTIONS  ANSWERED  237 

would  have  found  themselves  cleansed  as  they  went 
their  way?  St.  Paul  says  of  Christ;  "Being  con- 
summated He  became  to  all  that  obey  Him,  the 
cause  of  eternal  salvation.  "^ 

Objection  3,  *'If  sins  are  forgiven  by  perfect  con- 
trition, why  confess  them  afterward?" 

Answer  3.  Are  you  sure  that  you  have  perfect 
contrition?  Penance  is  the  ordinary  means  of  sal- 
vation for  those  who  have  fallen  into  mortal  sin 
after  Baptism,  as  Baptism  is  the  ordinary  means  of 
salvation  for  all.  While  perfect  contrition  does  re-^ 
mit  sin,  this  very  contrition  always  includes  at  least 
implicitly,  the  will  to  go  to  Confession  in  accordance 
with  the  divine  will. 

Objection  4.  * '  Confession  encourages  sin  by  mak- 
ing pardon  too  easy.*' 

Answer  4.  Rather  the  notion  that  you  can  be 
forgiven  without  confession  encourages  sin  by  mak- 
ing pardon  still  easier.  Apart  from  its  being 
God's  chosen  way  of  granting  pardon,  Confession 
with  its  examination  of  conscience,  its  humble  self- 
accusation,  its  sorrow  and  resolution,  its  penance, 
its  opportunity  of  educating  the  conscience  and 
insisting  on  the  means  of  avoiding  sin,  is  even  hu- 
manly speaking,  the  most  powerful  antagonist  of 
sin. 

Objection  5.  **Is  there  not  danger  of  the  priest 
telling  the  sins  that  are  revealed  to  him?" 

Answer  5.  The  priest  is  under  the  strictest  obli- 
gation to  preserve  the  seal  of  the  confessional.  Even 
the  courts  hold  this  trust  inviolate.  Priests  have 
suffered  death,  like  St.  John  Nepomucene,  rather 
than  reveal  the  sins  of  their  penitents.  No  names 
are  mentioned  in  the^  Confessional.  The  priest 
need  not  know  or  even  see  the  penitent.  One  may 
confess  to  any  priest  exercising  jurisdiction. 

»Heb,  5,  9. 


238  CONFESSION 

Objection  6.  '^Is  it  true  that  people  must  pay  to 
have  their  sins  forgiven?" 

Answer  6.  Emphatically,  No!  The  priest  does 
not  receive  a  fee  for  absolution.  Far  from  charging 
money  for  pardon,  the  confessor  could  not  accept  it 
even  if  it  were  freely  offered  to  him.  The  writer 
has  seen  books,  written  by  men  who  called  them- 
selves Christians,  which  not  only  asserted  that  Cath- 
olic priests  demand  money  for  absolution,  but  even 
published  what  pretended  to  be  the  cost  of  pardon 
for  each  particular  sin.  These  charges  are  the 
basest  calumnies.  Their  authors,  while  they  pre- 
tend to  work  for  the  glory  of  God,  in  reality  are 
doing  the  work  of  the  devil  who  is  the  father  of 
lies. 

Objection  7.  *'It  is  claimed  that  the  influence  of 
the  Confessional  is  demoralizing." 

Answer  7.  Do  those  who  know  the  Confessional 
from  experience  claim  this?  The  best  recommenda- 
tion of  the  work  of  the  Confessional  is  that  parents 
want  their  sons  and  daughters,  husbands  want  their 
wives,  wives  want  their  husbands,  to  frequent  the 
Sacrament  of  Penance.  When  children  go  to  Con- 
fession promptly  and  frequently,  parents  feel  that 
all  is  well  with  them ;  that  they  are  striving  to  keep 
their  lives  clean.  With  the  regular  check  of  Con- 
fession, nothing  will  be  allowed  to  go  very  far  amiss. 
But  when  Confession  is  neglected,  parents  feel  they 
have  reason  to  worry  about  the  child's  spiritual  wel- 
fare. The  youth  who  comes  by  himself  to  his  pas- 
tor and  •tells  him  of  the  bad  company  that  has  led 
to  the  saloon  or  worse,  is  on  the  way  to  overcome 
such  evil  influences.  Scripture  says:  *'He  that 
hideth  his  sins  shall  not  prosper;  but  he  that  shall 
confess  and  forsake  them,  shall  obtain  mercy. ' '  ^ 

Objection  8.    *'How  do  Catholics  refute  the  ex- 

»  Prov.  28,  13. 


OBJECTIONS  ANSWERED  2313 

priests  and  others  who  expose  the  secrets  of  the 
confessional?" 

Answer  8.  The  pretended  secrets  of  the  Confes- 
sional have  been  a  favorite  topic  with  those  unfortu- 
nate creatures  who  go  about  posing  as  *' ex-priests" 
and  ** escaped  nuns,"  and  making  a  miserable  living 
by  pandering  to  mingled  bigotry  and  pruriency. 
Bitter  experience  of  scandal  and  dishonesty  has 
taught  many  communities  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  these  moral  degenerates.  They  are  always  out 
and  otit  impostors.  Generally  they  were  never  Cath- 
olics at  all.  If  they  were  once  in  the  Church,  they 
are,  as  Swift  says,  **  weeds  which  the  Pope  has 
thrown  over  his  garden  wall."  In  time  they  are  in- 
variably their  own  refutation. 

Objection  9.  '']\Iany  non-Catholic  books  say  that 
Confession  was  instituted  by  the  Lateran  Council 
in  1215." 

Answer  9.  The  Bible  says  that  it  was  instituted 
by  Jesus  Christ  after  His  resurrection.  The  decree 
•of  the  Lateran  Council  merely  insists  that  Catholics 
receive  the  Sacrament  at  least  once  a  year.  Doubt- 
less then,  as  now,  there  were  members  of  the  Church 
who  were  inclined  to  neglect  the  Sacraments.  In  a 
similar  way  the  Church  made  a  rule  that  Catholics 
must  receive  the  Holy  Eucharfst  during  Easter  time. 

Confession  is  mentioned  in  the  ancient  councils, 
in  the  Fathers  and  in  the  Bible.  A  council  at  Rheims 
in  625,  legislates  about  the  jurisdiction  of  the  pas- 
tor to  hear  the  confessions  of  his  people  during  Lent. 
St.  Augustine  (d.  430)  writes:  *'Let  no  one  say: — 
I  do  penance  in  secret  and  before  God.  God  who 
knows  that  I  repent  in  my  heart  will  forgive  me. — 
Was  it  said  to  no  purpose  then:  Wliatsoever  you 
shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  also  in  Heaven." 

St.  Basil  (d.  373)  writes:  **In  the  confession  of 
sins,  the  same  method  must  be  observed  as  in  laying 


240  CONFESSION 

open  the  infirmities  of  the  body.  For  as  these  are 
not  rashly  communicated  to  everyone,  but  to  those 
only  who  understand  by  what  method  they  may  be 
cured,  so  the  confession  of  sins  must  be  made  to 
such  persons  as  have  power  to  apply  a  remedy." 
And  he  adds:  ** Necessarily  our  sins  must  be  con- 
fessed to  those  to  whom  has  been  committed  the 
dispensation  of  the  mysteries  of  God."  Basil,  Au- 
gustine, Ambrose,  Leo  I,  Jerome,  Chrysostom  and 
other  Fathers  speak  of  Confession. 

Of  the  first  Christian  converts,  St.  Luke  writes :  * 
**Many  of  them  who  believed  came  confessing  and 
declaring  their  deeds."  After  declaring  that  the 
priests  should  be  called  in  to  the  sick  man,  St. 
James  continues:  Confess  your  sins  one  to  another 
— or  the  one  to  the  other.^  St.  John  says:  ''If  we 
confess  our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive 
us  our  sins."  ^ 

The  Oriental  sects  that  fell  away  from  the  Church 
many  centuries  before  the  Council  of  Lateran,  retain 
Confession:  which  is  evidence  that  the  practice  of 
confessing  sins  in  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  pre- 
vailed in  the  Church  before  their  apostasy. 

Objection  10.  "It  is  hard  and  unnatural  to  con- 
fess one's  sins." 

Answer  10.  If  it  were  ever  so  hard,  it  would  still 
be  easier  than  to  burn  with  the  sins  in  hell.  But  it 
is  not  hard  as  Catholics  know  by  experience,  and  as 
converts  to  the  faith  discover  and  testify.  It  is 
Christ's  way  and  His  is  a  merciful  way,  fitted  to 
the  needs  of  our  human  nature. 

The  Sacrament  of  Penance  is  supernatural.  But 
to  tell  one's  faults  is  the  most  natural  thing  in  the 
world.  Far  from  being  something  abhorrent  to  our 
nature,  confession  really  corresponds  to  a  want  of 
the  human  soul.     It  is  probable  that  no  one  ever 

•Act.  19,  18.  "Jas.  5,  13-16.  'I.  John  1.  9. 


OBJECTIONS  ANSWERED  241 

committed  a  serious  fault  without  confiding  it  to 
somebody.  To  have  another  share  the  secret  that 
burdens  us,  is  an  instinct  of  our  nature.  The  mur- 
derer confesses  his  crime  or  he  commits  suicide :  and 
his  suicide  is  his  confession.  Before  going  to  sleep 
at  ni^ht  the  little  child  puts  its  arms  around  the 
mother's  neck  and  whispers  into  her  forgiving  ear 
the  tiny  fault  of  the  day.  In  the  emotional  excite- 
ment of  the  revival  or  camp-meeting,  life  histories, 
sometimes  life  tragedies,  are  blurted  out  publicly  to 
an  indiscreet  world.  When  the  proud  sinner  grows 
weary  of  his  hollow  life  and  would  be  emancipated 
from  the  rottenness  and  dead  bones  within  the  whi- 
tened sepulcher  of  his  heart,  and  comes  to  know 
himself  and  be  humble,  then  he  feels  the  want  of  a 
strong  and  prudent  friend  to  whom  he  can  unbosom 
himself;  to  whom  he  may  pour  out  the  thoughts  of 
his  disillusioned  heart;  with  whom  he  may  advise 
about  the  duty  of  reparation  and  the  means  of  spir- 
itual peace.  Or  again,  the  scrupulous  soul,  driven 
to  the  brink  of  despair  by  fears  and  temptations, 
moans  out:  What  shall  I  do?  Who  can  help  me? 
Who  can  assure  me  of  God's  forgiveness? 

In  the  Sacrament  of  Confession  Jesus  Christ  has 
left  in  His  Church,  a  means  whereby  consciences 
may  be  revealed  to  the  spiritual  physician  in  peace 
and  prudence:  where  without  scandal  to  others  or 
loss  of  good  name  or  usefulness,  the  sins  may  be  dis- 
closed in  private  confession  to  the  priest,  who  is 
strong  enough  to  bear  with  the  sinner  and  human 
enough  not  to  despise  him ;  who  is  trained  to  advise 
and  guide,  and  pledged  to  eternal  secrecy  of  every 
word  confided  to  him;  who  above  all  is  empowered 
by  God  to  forgive  in  His  name. 


242  CONFESSION 

56.    INDULGENCES. 

One  of  the  grandest  pictures  in  the  Christian  his- 
tory is  the  scene  of  the  courageous  St.  Ambrose, 
Bishop  of  Milan,  shutting  the  doors  of  his  Cathedral 
in  the  face  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius  the  ^Great, 
and  refusing  him  entrance  into  the  church  on  aeount 
of  his  crime  in  allowing  the  imperial  soldiers  to 
massacre  the  inhabitants  of  Thessalonica.  The  suc- 
cessor of  the  Caesars  was  thus  taught  that  there  is  a 
power  of  right  higher  than  the  caprice  of  kings.  As 
a  member  of  the  Christian  Church,  Theodosius  could 
be  forgiven  his  sin,  upon  evidence  of  sincere  repent- 
ance. Meantime  he  must  take  his  place  outside  the 
door  of  the  church  with  the  humblest  penitents  and 
by  long  penance  prove  the  sincerity  of  his  conver- 
sion.^ 

Early  Penances.  The  Emperor,  the  same  as  other 
Christians  of  the  time,  was  obliged  to  do  public  pen- 
ance for  his  public  sin.  This  penitential  system  of 
the  early  days  of  the  Church  is  associated  with  the 
doctrine  of  Indulgences.  According  to  St.  Basil,  a 
murderer  was  obliged  to  do  penance  for  20  years; 
an  adulterer  for  15  years.  For  lapse  into  idolatry 
and  other  scandals,  similar  penances  were  imposed. 
Heinous  crimes  merited  the  major  excommunica- 
tions by  which  public  sinners  were  cut  off  from  the 
Church  and  avoided  till  they  resolved  to  mend  their 
ways.  Lesser  scandals  incurred  minor  excommuni- 
cations. Penitents  sometimes  stood  barefooted  at 
the  door  of  the  church  asking  the  prayers  of  the 
faithful.  Sometimes  they  fasted  for  months  on 
bread  and  water.  These  penances  reveal  the  faith 
of  the  early  Christians ;  their  appreciation  of  citizen- 
ship in  the  Kingdom  of  God;  and  their  readiness  to 
give   heroic   evidence   of  repq^itance,  if  in  human 

^I.  Cor.  5,  5. 


INDULGENCES  243 

weakness  they  had  forfeited  that  divine  citizenship. 

Indulgence.  It  was  well  understood  that  the 
works  of  penance  did  not  remit  mortal  sin.  Only- 
God's  grace  could  do  that.  The  penitential  works 
had  to  do  with  the  temporal  punishment  due  to  sin. 
If  the  penitent  fell  dangerously  ill  before  his  time  of 
discipline  was  over,  he  was  at  once  reconciled  and 
granted  absolution  and  Holy  Communion.  What 
was  lacking  in  his  penance  might  be  supplied  by 
God's  grace  in  some  other  way.  This  same  mercy 
or  indulgence,  was  sometimes  shown  to  others  who 
had  edified  the  Church  by  extraordinary  signs  of  re- 
pentance. At  the  prayer  of  saints  about  to  suffer 
martyrdom,  the  Church  sometimes  relaxed  her  dis- 
cipline in  favor  of  certain  penitents. 

From  this  indulgent  kindness  of  Mother  Church, 
comes  the  word  Indulgence.  Derived  from  the  Latin 
ind/ulgeo,  it  means  originally,  to  be  kind,  merciful, 
to  grant  a  favor.  In  English,  the  gratification  of 
the  passions  is  only  one  out  of  several  meanings  of 
the  word  indulgence :  and  a  meaning  which  has  noth- 
ing whatever  to  do  with'  the  theological  sense  of 
the  word. 

Definition.  An  Indulgence  is  the  remission,  out- 
side of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance,  of  all  or  part  of 
the  temporal  punishment,  which,  even  after  the  sin 
is  forgiven,  we  have  yet  to  undergo  either  here  or 
in  Purgatory. 

To  gain  an  Indulgence,  it  is  required  that  we 
should  be  in  the  state  of  grace,  and  have  already  ob- 
tained by  true  repentance,  forgiveness  of  those  sins 
the  temporal  •punishment  of  which  is  to  be  remitted 
by  the  Indulgence :  and  that  we  should  exactly  per- 
form the  good  works  prescribed  for  gaining  the  In- 
dulgence. 

A  Bible  Indulgence.  St.  Paul  granted  an  Indul- 
gence to  the  incestuous  Corinthian,  pardoning  him 


244  CONFESSION 

in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  through  regard  to  the 
prayers  and  fervor  of  the  Christians  of  that  city. 
This  man  had  committed  a  terrible  crime,  and  in 
punishment  thereof  the  Apostle  excommunicated 
him,  delivering,  as  he  said,  ^ '  such  a  one  to  Satan  for 
the  destruction  of  the  flesh,  that  the  spirit  may  be 
saved  in  the  day  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.''  But 
scarcely  has  a  year  passed  after  this  terrible  excom- 
munication, when,  moved  by  the  sinner's  sincere  re- 
pentance, Paul  writes  to  the  Corinthians  to  restore 
him  again  to  the  communion  of  the  faithful,  saying : 
'^To  him,  that  is  such  a  one,  this  rebuke  is  sufficient, 
which  is  given  by  many.  So  that  on  the  contrary 
you  should  rather  pardon  and  comfort  him,  .  .  . 
and  to  whoin  you  have  pardoned  anything,  I  also. 
For  what  I  have  pardoned,  if  I  have  pardoned  any- 
thing, for  your  sakes  have  I  done  it,  in  the  person 
of  Christ.  "2 

^'In  this  passage  we  have  all  the  elements  that 
constitute  an  Indulgence.  First,  a  penance,  or  tem- 
poral punishment  proportionate  to  the  gravity  of  the 
offense,  is  imposed;  secondly,  the  penitent  is  truly 
contrite  for  his  crime ;  thirdly,  this  contrition  deter- 
mines the  Apostle  to  remit  the  penalty ;  fourthly,  the 
Apostle  considers  the  relaxation  of  the  penance  rat- 
ified by  Jesus  Christ,  in  whose  name,  and  by  whose 
authority,  it  is  imparted.  He  adds,  indeed,  ''If  I 
have  pardoned  anything,"  but,  as  is  evident  from 
the  context,  he  thereby  only  signifies  that  he  does 
not  know  whether  perhaps  the  penance  already  per- 
formed may  not  have  been  sufficient  to  satisfy  the 
justice  of  God:  if  it  was  not  sufficieirt,  then  he  re- 
mits the  rest,  in  virtue  of  the  power  given  by  Christ, 
when  He  said:  ''Whatsoever  ye  shall  loose  on  earth, 
shall  be  loosed  also  in  Heaven." 

"As  the  Apostle  did  in  this  instance,  so  did  the 

Ul.  Cor.  2,  6-10. 


INDULGENCES  245 

Popes  and  Bishops  of  the  early  Church  on  numerous 
occasions.  Taught  by  the  Apostles,  they  understood 
that  the  power  of  the  keys  was  applicable  to  tem- 
poral punishment  as  well  as  to  the  guilt  of  sin.  As 
they  had  power  to  administer  the  Sacrament  of  Pen- 
ance, so  had  they  also  power  to  grant  Indulgences. 
And  this  remission  on  the  part  of  the  Bishops,  was 
valid,  not  only  in  the  sight  of  the  Church,  but  also 
in  the  sight  of  God.  If  they  pardoned  anything, 
they  did  so  in  the  person  of  Christ,  even  as  the  Apos- 
tle had  done  in  the  case  of  the  incestuous  Corin- 
thian. "^ 

Development.  In  the  course  of  time  the  fervor 
that  marked  the  primitive  Christians  decreased. 
Sinners  were  not  inclined  to  do  the  long  and  rigor- 
ous public  penances.  To  insist  upon  them  would  be 
to  tempt  many  to  fall  away  entirely  from  the  Church. 
But  the  Scripture  is  true  that  God  is  wont  to  for- 
give the  repentant  sinner  and  free  him  from  the 
guilt  of  sin  and  its  eternal  punishment,  without  free- 
ing him  from  its  temporal  punishment."*  Thus  God 
sent  the  prophet  Nathan  to  tell  David:  "The  Lord 
hath  taken  away  thy  sin.  Nevertheless  because  thou 
hast  given  occasion  to  the  enemies  of  the  Lord  to 
blaspheme,  for  this  thing,  the  child  that  is  born  of 
thee  shall  die.''  An  awful  temporal  punishment  in- 
flicted even  after  the  sin  and  its  eternal  punishment 
were  forgiven!  The  motherly  solicitude  of  the 
Church  sought  to  make  up  what  w^as  wanting  in  the 
penance  of  the  sinner  by  opening  to  his  poverty, 
the  spiritual  treasury  which  she  is  entrusted  to  ad- 
minister— namely  the  infinite  merits  of  Christ  and 
the  superabundant  prayers  and  good  works  of  His 
saints.     Indulgences   became   rather  the   rule  than 

the  exception.     In  place  of  the  canonical  penances, 

• 

•  Otten,   "Sacramental  Life  of  Church." 

*  See  cases  of  David  (II.  Kings  12  and  24) ;  of  Adam  (Gen.  3,  17-20; 
Wis.  10,  22);  of  Moses  (Num.  20,  12;  Deut.  32,  51-52);  of  Jews 
(Num.    14,    20-23). 


246  CONFESSION 

a  condition  of  gaining  an  indulgence  might  be  (be- 
sides the  receiving  of  the  Sacraments)  the  recitation 
of  psalms  or  other  prayers,  visiting  the  sick,  alms 
given  to  the  poor,  a  pilgrimage  to  some  holy  place, 
or  other  comparatively  small  works. 

Plenary  and  Partial.  The  association  of  Indul- 
gences with  the  remission  of  canonical  penances, 
writes  Fr.  Otten,  ''is  evident  from  the  very  form  in 
which  they  are  granted.  Thus  the  Church  grants 
Indulgences  of  forty  days,  seven  years,  seven  quar- 
antines, and  so  on;  which  means  that  so  much  tem- 
poral punishment  is  remitted  as  would  have  been 
cancelled  by  the  practice  of  canonical  penances  con- 
tinued for  these  respective  periods  of  time.  These 
Indulgences  are  called  Partial  Indulgences ;  because 
they  are  intended  to  remit  only  this  specified  part  of 
the  temporal  punishment;  what  is  due  over  and 
above  still  remains.  The  same  fundamental  idea  is 
involved  in  Plenary  Indulgences.  They  remit  the 
whole  debt  of  temporal  punishment  which  a  sinner 
may  have  contracted  with  God,  and  they  are  there- 
fore equivalent  to  a  remission  of  all  canonical  pen- 
ances, which  of  old  a  penitent  would  have  been  re- 
quired to  perform,  in  order  to  satisfy  the  justice  of 
God.  These  canonical  penances  are  indeed  no  longer 
imposed  by  the  Church,  yet,  as  was  pointed  out  be- 
fore, God  never  ceases  to  inflict  temporal  punish- 
ment for  sins,  and  hence  Indulgences  are  granted 
to-day  even  as  was  the  custom  of  old;  if  not  as  an 
actual  substitute  for  canonical  penances,  at  least  as 
a  mild  and  merciful  payment  of  the  debt  that  stands 
against  the  penitent  sinner  on  the  account-books  of 
God.'' 

Non-Catholic  Misrepresentation.  Alms  given  to 
build  hospitals,  churches  and  other  institutions  of 
charity,  often  constituted  the  good  works  which, 
with  Confession  and  Communion,  were  conditions 


INDULGENCES  247 

of  gaining  Indulgences.  Had  not  Christ  said,  that 
not  even  the  cup  of  water  given  in  His  name  would 
be  without  its  reward?  The  reluctance  of  the  Ger- 
man princes  to  let  their  people  contribute  toward 
the  splendid  world  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter's  at 
Rome,  which  Michael  Angelo  and  other  men  of 
genius  were  rearing  at  the  beginning  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  did  much  to  precipitate  the  religious 
revolution  known  as  the  Reformation.  Pope  Leo  X 
had  promised  the  blessing  of  an  Indulgence  to  those 
yj  who  would  contribute  to  this  grandest  temple  raised 
to  God,  and  fulfill  also  the  other  conditions  of  gain- 
ing the  Indulgence.  First  alleged  abuses  of  the 
collectors,  and  later  the  very  doctrine  of  Indul- 
gences, were  attacked  by  Martin  Luther  and  others.' 
If  there  were  any  abuses  in  the  methods  of  individ- 
ual collectors,  the  Church  was  not  to  blame.  It  is 
not  easy  to  raise  millions  of  dollars  for  a  great 
world  work  without  meeting  with  some  unworthy 
or  indiscreet  agent.  But  the  doctrine  of  the  Church 
on  the  subject  was  ever  the  same  truth  from  the 
days  of  Paul  at  Corinth,  even  to  our  own. 

Since  the  Reformation  and  the  religious  excite- 
ment it  engendered,  Pretestauts  have  very  com- 
monly entertained  the  most  erroneous  ideas  about 
the  Catholic  teaching  on  Indulgences.  In  fact  ene- 
mies of  the  Church  have  not  hesitated  to  spread  the 
foulest  lies  about  this  doctrine.  Poor  ignorant  peo- 
ple are  told  that  an  Indulgence  is  a  permission  to 
commit  sin:  a  seven  years'  indulgence,  a  license  to 
indulge  in  sin  for  seven  years.  Imagine  the  malice 
that  would  thus  slander  the  Church  and  break  the 
Commandment:  "Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness 
against  thy  nieghbor!"  Imagine  such  calumny 
perpetrated  in  the  name  of  religion  itself !  Again  it 
is  said  that  the  Catholic  Church  selll  Indulgences. 

»See  Chapter  26;  No.  81. 


248  CONFESSION 

The  Church  never  sold  an  Indulgence.  God's  bless- 
ing cannot  be  bought  or  sold.  As  well  say  that  the 
Methodist  Church  sells  blessings  when  it  promises 
that  God  will  reward  those  who  with  a  pure  heart, 
contribute  alms  to  build  a  church  or  to  send  mission- 
aries to  the  pagans. 

Benefit  of  Indulgences.  While  not  absolutely 
necessary  for  salvation,  Indulgences  are  as  beneficial 
as  they  are  consoling.  Without  their  help  we  are 
likely  to  undergo  a  severe  purgatory  in  the  next 
world.  How  often  is  our  contrition  for  sin,  of  the 
less  perfect  sort?  How  few  have  that  ardent  love 
of  God  whose  divine  fire  burns  away  at  once  every 
obstacle  to  perfect  union  with  Him?  The  gift  of 
Indulgences  is  an  encouragement  to  perform  the 
works  of  penance  prescribed  for  their  attainment. 
Our  fasting  with  Christ,^  during  the  forty  days  of 
Lent;  our  going  with  Him  in  spirit  over  the  way 
of  the  Cross;  or  through  His  whole  life  in  the 
Rosary,  are  penances  whose  own  rewards  are  aug- 
mented by  the  gift  of  many  graces  in  the  Indul- 
gences of  which  they  are  the  occasion. 

As  one  condition  of  gaining  Indulgences  is  that 
the  Christian  must  first  be  in  the  state  of  sanctify- 
ing grace,  their  announcement  on  certain  occasions 
is  doubtless  the  means  of  moving  sinners  to  awaken 
to  their  miserable  condition  and  seek  the  grace  of 
reconciliation  with  God,  in  Confession  and  Holy 
Communion.  God's  grace"  takes  away  the  eternal 
punishment  of  sin  and  hell.  The  penance  given  in 
Confession,  as  the  Council  of  Trent  teaches,^  makes 
the  sinner  more  careful  for  the  future,  substitutes 
for  his  vices  the  contrary  virtues  and  prevents  him 
from  falling  into  more  grievous  sins.  Finally  the 
visits  to  the  churches,  the  public  profession  of  faith, 
the  prayers  and  other  good  works  prescribed  for  a 

•  Mt.  4,  2.  T  sess.  14,  Ch.  8. 


INDULGENCES  249 

time  like  the  Jubilee,®  lead  to  the  gaining  of  Plenary- 
Indulgence,  which  removing  the  temporal  punish- 
ment still  due  to  sin,  finishes  the  Christian's  union 
with  God  and  makes  him  ready  for  Heaven. 

*  After  the  Holy  Land  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks,  the  Jubilee 
Year  (generally  each  25  years)  enabled  people  to  gain  the  same  indul- 
gences by  a  spiritual  pilgrimage  nearer  home,  that  were  formerly  *t> 
tached  to  the  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Laud. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

HOLY  ORDERS— THE  CHRISTIAN 
PRIESTHOOD 

57.  THE  SACRAMENT  OF  HOLY  ORDERS. 

As  the  passing  ^ears  bring  the  Christian  youth 
to  man's  estate,  he  must  choose  his  life  work.  He 
may  feel  that  it  is  his  vocation  to  consecrate  his  life 
to  the  service  of  God  and  fellow-man  in  the  Chris- 
tian ministry.  The  sacrament  by  which  a  layman  is 
raised  to  the  priesthood  is  called  Holy  Orders.  In 
a  certain  sense  all  Christians  are  priests.  On  the 
altars  of  their  hearts  men  and  women  offer  spiritual 
sacrifices  in  their  internal  and  external  acts  of 
Christian  virtue.  At  the  same  time  certain  men 
are  set  aside  and  empowered  by  sacramental  ordina- 
tion for  the  special  work  of  the  Church's  ministry. 

The  need  of  such  a  body  of  men  is  apparent  from 
what  has  been  said  about  the  Sacraments  and  other 
sacred  institutions  by  which  Christ  carries  on  His 
work  in  the  world.  St.  Paul  calls  the  Apostles  the 
ambassadors  of  Christ,  and  the  dispensers  of  the 
Mysteries  or  Sacraments  of  God.  Theirs  is  not  a 
different  or  independent  priesthood  from  Christ's. 
It  is  the  Christian  priesthood.  The  Apostles  and  their 
successors  act  as  instruments  and  agents  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  bringing  the  graces  of  His  Eternal  Priest- 
hood to  the  souls  of  men. 

Christ's  Ministers.    In  the  Old  Law  there  was  an 

250 


THE  CHRISTIAN  PRIESTHOOD  251 

external  and  official  priesthood.  The  tribe  of  Levi 
were  appointed  to  minister  in  the  temple.  An  ex- 
press law  forbade  any  other  to  assume  the  function. 
King  Ozias  was  stricken  by  God  with  leprosy,  for 
having  usurped  the  sacerdotal  office.^  The  Apostles 
were  chosen  by  Christ  as  the  first  priests  of  the  New 
Law.  To  them  were  entrusted  the  Church,  its  gov- 
ernment, its  teaching  office,  and  the  administration 
of  the  Sacraments.  The  New  Testament  is  full  of 
their  priesthood.  At  the  Last  Supper  Christ  em- 
powered them  with  the  ministry  of  the  New  Cove- 
nant in  His  Body  and  Blood.  "Do  this  for  the  com- 
memoration of  Me."  After  His  resurrection,  He 
conferred  upon  them  the  **  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion" from  sin.  **  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost ;  whose 
sins  ye  shall  forgive,  they  are  forgiven  them." 

Successors  of  Apostles.  It  soon  became  necessary 
to  ordain  many  fellow-laborers  with  the  Apostles, 
destined  to  perpetuate  their  office  which  is  to  last 
till  the  end  of  the  world.-  We  read :  ^  ''  When  they 
liad  ordained  to  them  priests  in  every  church,  and 
had  prayed  with  fasting,  they  commended  them  to 
the  Lord."  These  men  are  told:'*  ''Take  heed  to 
yourselves  and  to  the  whole  flock  wherein  the  Holy 
Ghost  hath  placed  you  Bishops  to  rule  the  Church 
of  God,  which  he  hath  purchased  with  His  own 
Blot)d."  The  office  of  the  priesthood  was  conferred 
by  the  sacramental  imposition  of  hands,  even  when 
the  candidates  were  chosen  and  called  directly  by 
the  Divine  Spirit.  We  read:^  ''The  Holy  Ghost 
said  to  them:  Separate  me  Saul  and  Barnabas  for 
the  work  whereunto  I  have  taken  them.  Then  they 
fasting  and  praying  and  imposing  their  hands  upon 
them,  sent  them  away." 

Imposition  of  Hands.    As  St.  Paul  was  baptized 

i-IT.  Par.    (Chron.)    26,   18-19.  *  Act.  ?0,  28. 

»Mt.    28,    20.  »Act.  13,  2-3. 

»Act.   14.  22. 


252  HOLY  ORDERS 

as  a  means  of  coming  into  the  Church,  he  was  also 
ordained  for  its  official  ministry. 

Paujl  ordained  Timothy,  Titns  and  others,  and  in 
his  letters  speaks  of  their  divine  office.  ''Neglect 
not  the  grace  that  is  in  thee,  which  was  given  thee 
by  prophecy  with  the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  the 
priesthood.''^  *'I  admonish  thee,  that  thou  stir  up 
the  grace  of  God  which  is  in  thee  by  the  imposition 
of  my  hands."  ^  ''Impose  not  hands  lightly  upon 
any  man,  neither  be  partaker  of  other  men 's  sins. ' '  ® 
St.  Paul  teaches  that  more  than  an  education  and  a 
call  from  the  people  is  needed  to  raise  a  man  to  the 
Apostolic  office:  "How  shall  they  hear  without  a 
preacher?  And  how  shall  they  preach  unless  they 
be  sent  ?  I  left  thee  in  Crete  that  thou  shouldst  or- 
dain priests  in  every  city,  as  I  also  appointed  thee."  ^ 

From  the  days  of  the  Apostles  the  Christian  priest- 
hood has  been  transmitted  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration by  the  Bishops  of  the  Church.  The  Roman 
clergy  are  as  truly  priests  to-day  as  they  were  in 
the  days  when  Peter  and  Paul,  dying  themselves, 
left  their  successors  in  the  Eternal  City.  Protestant 
ministers  have  no  Sacred  Orders  and  do  not  even 
pretend  to  be  priests,  save  a  few  Episcopalians, 
whose  Anglican  ordination  is  judged  invalid  by 
Rome. 

Holy  Orders.  The  Sacrament  of  Holy  Orders  ^an 
be  conferred  only  by  a  Bishop.  Several  preparatory 
steps  precede  the  candidate's  elevation  to  the  priest- 
hood. The  fullness  of  the  priesthood  is  possessed 
by  the  Bishops.  The  minor  steps  or  orders  are 
Porter,  Reader,  Exorcist  and  Acolyte.  The  major 
orders  are  those  of  Subdeacon,  Deacon  and  Priest. 

Priest  Called  Father.  As  the  Church  is  the  com- 
mon home  of  the  Christian  flock,  the  priest  minister- 
ing therein  as  the  representative  of  God,  and  for  the 

«I.  Tim.  4,  14.        ■'if.  Tim.   1,   6.         "  j,  Tim.   5,  22.  'Tit.  1,  5. 


^         CLERICAL  CELIBACY  253 

benefit  of  the  people,  is  the  spiritual  father  of  this 
spiritual  family.^^  As  the  father  in  the  home  gives 
his  children  their  natural  life,  feeds  and  clothes  their 
bodies,  trains  them  to  earn  their  living,  watches 
over  their  health  and  general  welfare;  so  from 
cradle  to  grave  the  priest  watches  over  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  Christian.  Through  his  hands  the 
child  is  born,  in  Baptism,  into  the  supernatural  life. 
By  him  the  soul  is  fed  with  the  words  of  truth  and 
the  divine  food  of  Holy  Communion.  He  rejoices 
with  his  children  in  their  day  of  joy,  blessing  their 
marriage  and  new  home.  He  weeps  with  them  in 
their  sorrow,  kifeeling  at  the  bedside  of  the  dying 
and  burying  the  dead.  The  scripture  does  not  for- 
bid to  call  those  father  who  are  the  representatives 
of  the  one  divine  Father  in  Heaven.  Like  the  father 
in  the  home  the  priest  is  a  true  representative  of  the 
Father  in  Heaven  whose  paternity  is  honored  in  the 
honor  given  His  ambassadors. 

58.    CLERICAL  CELIBACY. 

Giving  himself  in  an  undivided  service  to  tht 
spiritual  family  that  calls  him  father,  the  priest  has 
no  other  family.  He  has  vowed  himself  to  a  life  of 
celibacy.  In  doing  this  he  follows  the  example  of 
Christ  and  His  Apostles  and  the  recommendations 
of  Holy  Scriptures.  The  celibacy  of  the  priesthood 
is  not  a  divine  command,  but  it  is  a  divine  coun- 
sel. The  rule  of  celibacy  is  a  law  of  discipline,  not 
a  dogma  of  faith.    Of  this  celibacy  St.  Paul  says :  ^ 

"He  that  is  without  a  wife,  is  solicitous  for  the 
things  that  belong  to  the  Lord,  how  he  may  please 
God  But  he  that  is  with  a  wife,  is  solicitous  for 
the  things  of  the  world,  how  he  may  please  his  wife: 

"I.  Cor.  4,  15;  I.  Tim.  1,  2 ;  T.  John  2.  18. 
'  I.  Cor.  7,   32-33. 


254  HOLY  ORDERS 

and  he  is  divided."  St.  Paul  here  covers  the  v^^hole 
case.  Nothing  earthly  should  have  a  claim  on  a 
priest,  neither  father  nor  mother,  nor  brother,  nor 
sister,  nor  wife,  nor  children,  may  claim  him.  The 
priest,  body  and  soul,  belongs  to  the  Church  of 
Christ.  To  promote  and  protect  its  interests,  to  live 
for  its  people,  to  work  for  them,  to  die  for  them 
if  necessary,  to  think  of  them,  to  provide  for  their 
every  want,  and  pray  for  them  night  and  day — this 
is  the  mission  of  the  Catholic  priest.  If  he  has  a 
wife  and  children  to  work  for,  he  can  not  give  his 
whole  time  and  thought  and  work  and  the  fruit  of 
his  labors  to  his  people.  In  the  words  of  the  Apostle 
^'he  is  divided."  The  gospel  of  self-denial  must 
have  a  self-denying  priesthood  to  preach  it. 

St.  Paul  offers  his  fellow  priests  the  example  as 
well  as  the  counsel  of  an  undivided  service.  ^'  1 
would,"  he  writes,  ''that  all  men  were  even  as  my- 
self, but  every  one  hath  his  proper  gift  from  God. 
.  .  .  But  I  say  to  the  unmarried  and  widowed,  it 
is  good  for  them  if  they  so  continue,  even  as  I. "  ^ 

Christ's  Promise.  When  St.  Peter  said  to  Jesus: 
''Lo,  we  have  left  all  things  and  followed  Thee,"  the 
Apostle  evidently  referred  to  the  fact  that  for  the 
sake  of  the  Gospel  he  had  severed  even  the  closest 
family  ties;  for  Jesus  answered:  ''Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  there  is  no  man  that  hath  left  house,  or 
brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or  wife, 
or  children,  or  lands,  for  my  sake  and  the  GospeFs 
but  he  shall  receive  a  hundredfold  now  in  this 
time  .  .  .  and  in  the  world  to  come,  eternal  life."  ^ 
Practical  Advantages.  The  priest  gives  up  wife, 
children,  home,  by  giving  up  the  very  right  to  these 
things.  By  sacrificing  ties  that  the  world  holds 
most  dear,  the  priest  is  left  free  to  fight  the  unceas- 
ing battle  of  the  soldier  of  the  cross.    The  advan- 

=  1.   Cor.   7,   7-8. 

»Mk.   10,  28-30;  Mt.  19,  29;  Luke  18,  29. 


CLERICAL  CELIBACY  255 

tages  which  lie  with  a  celibate  clergy  in  the  work 
of  the  foreign  missions,  is  admitted  by  all.  The 
late  Anglican  Bishop  Bickersteth  of  South  Tokio, 
Japan,  writes  of  the  missionaries:  "Roman  Catho- 
lics can  teach  us  much  by  their  readiness  to  bear 
hardships.  In  Japan  a  Roman  priest  gets  one-sev- 
enth of  what  the  Church  Missionary  Society  and  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  allows  to 
a  deacon.  Of  course  they  can  only  live  on  the  food 
of  the  country."*  Marshall  in  his  "Christian  Mis- 
sions" has  gathered  much  testimony  in  favor  of 
celibate  missionaries. 

In  our  own  country,  men  free  from  the  great  re- 
sponsibility of  providing  for  a  family  and  of  educa- 
ting and  settling  in  life  a  number  of  sons  and  daugh- 
ters,' can  take  the  better  care  of  the  spiritual  family 
entrusted  to  them  by  Jesus  Christ.  Priests  can  de- 
vote themselves  to  the  building  up  of  poor  and 
uninviting  places  where  souls  are  likely  to  be  neg- 
lected. Backed  by  the  practical  example  of  disinter- 
estedness and' self-denial,  the  pastor's  exhortation  to 
his  flock  acquires  a  new  power.  He  need  be  no  re- 
specter of  persons.  People  find  little  difficulty  in 
entrusting  their  confession  to  a  priest  bound  by  the 
vow  of  celibacy.  On  the  other  hand  marriage  would 
seem  to  be  an  obstacle,  especially  to  confession. 
When  Hyacinthe  Loyson  left  the  Church  and  mar- 
ried, the  first  point  that  struck  a  free-thinker  like 
George  Sand,  was:  "Will  Pere  Hyacinthe  still  hear 
confessions  ?  Is  the  secrecy  of  the  confessional  com- 
patible with  the  mutual  confidences  of  conjugal 
love?"  Without  injustice  to  a  wife  or  children,  the 
unmarried  priest  can  give  himself  and  his  all  to  the 
Gospel.  If  need  be,  he  can  lay  down  his  life  for  his 
flock,  as  many  priests  have  done,  amid  the  contagion 
of  yellow-fever  or  small-pox.     Celibacy  allows  the 

*  Life  and  Letters  of  Ed.  Bickersteth,  II.  Ed.  Lond.  p.  214, 


256  HOLY  ORDERS 

priest  to  live  as  a  soldier  of  the  Cross  and  to  die  as  a 
soldier. 

A  Higher  State.  On  higher  grounds  than  utilita- 
rian considerations,  religious  celibacy  has  always  ap- 
pealed to  the  Christian  instinct  as  a  state  befitting 
the  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  could  not  think 
of  Christ  save  as  a  virgin.  He  chose  to  be  born  of 
a  mother  who  had  consecrated  her  virginity  to  God. 
In  the  Old  Law,  the  great  prophets  Elias,  Eliseus, 
Jeremiah,  John  the  Baptist;  in  the  New  Law,  St. 
Paul,  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  and  other  disciples 
lived  in  the  state  of  consecrated  celibacy.  Marriage 
is  a  sacrament  of  the  Christian  religion.  But,  how- 
ever holy  its  state,  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the 
vow  of  religious  celibacy  raises  one  to  an  even  higher 
state.  The  priests  of  the  Old  Law,  who  transmitted 
their  priesthood  by  natural  generation,  were  enjoined 
to  observe  continence  during  the  period  when  in  their 
turn,  they  served  in  the  temple.  How  fitting  is  cel- 
ibacy to  the  priests  of  the  New  Law,  where  the 
priestly  character  is  imparted  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
the  Sacrament  of  Orders  and  where  the  priests  stand 
daily  at  the  altar. 

Constant  Ideal.  Though  in  the  beginning  the 
Church  was  obliged  to  ordain  men  who  were  already 
married,  her  higher  ideal  was  ever  in  her  mind.  St. 
Paul,  who  presents  his  own  celibacy  as  a  model  for 
the  clergy,  urges  his  brethren  to  present  themselves 
as  ministers  of  God  in  chastity.^  If  married  men  are 
ordained,  Paul  insists  that  ''a  bishop  or  deacon 
should  be  the  husband  of  one  wife."^  This  does 
not  mean  that  the  candidate  need  be  married.  St. 
Paul  prefers  that  he  is  not.  But  if  he  is  married,  it 
must  be  but  once.  In  Latin  Christendom,  where 
young  men  in  sufficient  numbers  are  found  willing 
to  give  themselves  in  undivided  service,  the  ideal  of 

6  1.  Cor.  7,  7-8;  Tit.  1,  8;  I.  Tim.  4,  12. 
«I.   Tim.    3,    3-12;   Tit.    1,    6. 


RELIGIOUS  ORDERS  257 

celibacy  is  realized.  In  the  Greek  portion  of  the 
Church,  though  priests  cannot  marry,  married  men 
may  be  raised  to  the  priesthood.  Like  the  Jewish 
priests  they  must  practice  continence  at  certain 
times.  If  his  spouse  dies,  the  priest  cannot  marry 
again.  The  Greek  Bishops  are  chosen  not  from  the 
married  clergy,  but  from  the  monks,  who  of  coilrse 
are  celibates:  and  who,  be  it  noted,  have  far  more 
respect  and  influence  with  the  people  than  their  mar- 
ried brethren.  These  rules  prevail,  not  only  among 
the  Greeks  united  with  Rome,  but  also  among  the 
schismatic  Greeks,  Russians,  Armenians,  Copts  and 
other  Oriental  sects. 

The  objections  brought  against  clerical  celibacy 
by  writers  of  a  certain  class,  are  hardly  w^orthy  of 
notice.  The  best  physicians  agree  that  the  state  of 
voluntary  continence,  far  from  being  harmful  or 
impossible,  is  very  conducive  to  the  best  of  health 
and  the  finest  mental  activity.  The  moral  record 
of  the  unmarried  priests  will  compare  very  favor- 
ably with  that  of  married  clergymen  and  others,  as 
the  very  readers  of  the  newspapers  can  observe. 

In  the  United  States  there  are  some  seven  million 
unmarried  men  between  the  ages  of  21  and  45  years. 
The  Catholic  priests  of  the  country  are  only  one-fifth 
ofone  per  cent,  of  this  number.  The  example  of  a 
celibate  clergy  is  an  encouragement  to  the  unmarried 
millions,  not  to  lower  their  moral  ideal,  but  even  in 
the  face  of  overwhelming  passion  and  possible  falls, 
to  continue  the  struggle  tow^ards  its  realization  in 
their  lives. 

59.     THE    RELIGIOUS    ORDERS    AND    THEIR 
LIFE  OF  PERFECTION. 

The  various  religious  orders  and  societies  of  men 
and  women  that  adorn  the  Church  are  closely  associ- 


258  HOLY  ORDERS 

ated  with  the  priesthood  in  doing  the  work  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Many  of  the  grandest  pages  of  history 
chronicle  the  lives  and  deeds  of  the  saintly  founders 
of  religious  communities  and  their  devoted  associ- 
ates, who  have  accomplished  very  miracles  for  Christ 
and  His  children.  When  Europe  was  a  chaos  of  bar- 
barism, the  Benedictines,  with  the  motto  '*Ora  et 
Labora,''  prayed  and  worked  for  its  civilization  and 
conversion.  The  Mendicant  Friars  of  St.  Francis  of 
Assisi  and  St.  Dominic,  rising  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
made  the  heroic  zeal  of  a  few  the  inspiration  of 
many.  Later  the  Jesuits  came  to  glorify  the  Church 
by  their  schools  of  highest  education  and  their  for- 
eign missions.  The  people  of  the  United  States  can 
see  the  daily  work  of  many  more  of  these  religious 
orders:  the  Passionists,  the  Redemptorists,  the  Sul- 
picians,  the  Paulists,  the  Christian  Brothers,  the 
Congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross,  the  Marists,  Au- 
gustinians,  Sanguinists,  Vincentians,  and  others. 

Orders  of  Women.  The  religious  orders  and  con- 
gregations of  Catholic  women  are  even  more  numer- 
ous than  those  of  men.  In  the  United  States  alone 
there  are  almost  100,000  consecrated  Nuns  or  Sisters, 
whose  lives  inspired  by  love  of  God,  are  spent  in 
charity  toward  fellow-man.  The  soldiers  of  the 
*' sixties''  gave  the  name  *'the  Angels  of  the  Battle- 
field,'' to  the  Sisters  who,  amid  the  terrible  scenes 
of  the  Civil  War,  nursed  alike  the  Blue  and  the 
Gray ;  and  sometimes  fell,  the  victims  of  bullets  not 
meant  for  their  generous  hearts.  Though  the  Civil 
War  is  over,  the  battle  of  life,  still  rages.  Men  and 
women  and  children  go  down  every  day  to  ruin  and 
death  and  to  the  danger  of  hell.  In  every  great 
city  Sisters  of  Charity  are  found  ministering  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  to  every  form  of  suffering  hu- 
manity. 
In  the  Orphan  Asylums  which  they  conduct,  the 


RELIGIOUS  ORDERS  259 

Sisters  become  mothers  by  adoption  of  thousands  of 
little  ones  that  have  been  bereft  of  their  natural 
parents.  At  the  other  en3  of  life,  we  see  the  Little 
Sisters  of  the  Poor  acting  like  daughters  to  the  in- 
digent aged.  Into  their  convent  homes  they  receive 
those  sad  old  lives;  and  while  they  go  from  door  to 
door  begging  for  the  sustenance  of  their  guests,  they 
brighten  their  last  days  with  the  comforts  of  a  home 
and  their  souls  with  the  sunlight  of  that  other  world 
which  is  their  own  inspiration.  The  Sisters  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  receive  into  their  houses  wayward 
girls  who  need  to  be  protected  and  educated  to  moral 
strength,  and  fallen  women  whom  they  endeavor  to 
reform  to  Christian  character  and  train  to  useful 
work,  that  on  going  out  into  the  world  again,  the 
unfortunates  may  be  able  to  earn  an  honest  living 
and  lead  a  life  that  will  save  their  souls.  The  cour- 
age shown  by  the  Sistei's  in  building  and  maintaining 
their  numberless  hospitals;  their  charity  which 
knows  neither  race  nor  creed;  the  intelligence  and 
skill  displayed  by  the  Sister-nurses  at  the  bedside 
and  in  the  operating-room,  are  universally  acknowl- 
edged and  admired.  The  men  and  women  of  the 
religious  orders  have  a  large  share  in  the  educational 
work  of  the  Church.  The  training  of  the  child  for 
the  fullest  and  highest  life  is  a  work  becoming  thoir 
noble  state. 

Works  of  Mercy.  The  religious  orders  may  be 
truly  said  to  give  their  lives  to  the  performance  of 
the  spiritual  and  corporal  works  of  mercy. 

The  Corporal  Works  of  Mercy — To  feed  the  hun- 
gry, to  give  drink  to  the  thirsty,  to  clothe  the  naked, 
to  harbor  the  harborless,  to  visit  the  sick,  to  visit  the 
imprisoned,  and  to  bury  the  dead. 

The  Spiritual  Works  of  Mercy — To  reclaim  sin- 
ners, to  instruct  the  ignorant,  to  counsel  tlue  doubt- 
ful, to  comfort  the  sorrowful,  to  bear  wrongs  pa- 


260  HOLY  ORDERS 

tiently,  to  forgive  offenses,  to  pray  for  the  living  and 
the  dead. 

Life  of  Perfection.  However  different  the  works 
in  which  they  are  engaged,  all  the  religious  orders 
are  essentially  alike.  They  are  all  pledged  to  the 
Life  of  Perfection.  What  is  meant  by  this  higher 
life,  the  Gospel  teaches  us :  ^ 

** Behold  one  came  to  Jesus  and  said  to  Him: 
Good  Master,  what  shall  I  do^that  I  may  have  life 
everlasting  ? 

And  He  said  to  him:  If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life 
keep  the  commandments. 

He  said  to  Him,  which?  And  Jesus  said:  Thou 
shalt  do  no  murder;  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adul- 
tery ;  Thou  shalt  not  steal ;  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false 
witness ;  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother ;  and  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself. 

The  young  man  said  to  Him:  All  these  I  have 
kept  since  my  youth.    "What  is  yet  wanting  to  me  ? 

Jesus  saith  to  him :  If  Thou  Wilt  Be  Perfect,  go 
sell  what  thou  hast,  and  give  it  to  the  poor,  and  thou 
shalt  have  treasure  in  Heaven:  and  come,  follow 
Me.'' 

Here  Jesus  Christ  distinctly  points  out  two  ways 
in  which  men  may  serve  God.  The  way  of  salvation 
consists  in  keeping  the  Commandments.  This  obli- 
gation rests  upon  everybody.  It  can  be  and 
should  be  practiced  in  every  position  in  life.  If  we 
keep  the  Commandments  we  shall  be  saved.  We 
shall  escape  Hell.    We  shall  at  least  get  to  Heaven. 

Besides  the  way  of  salvation,  there  is  the  higher 
way  of  perfection.  Not  all  are  capable  of  it.  It  is 
the  destiny  of  the  few  rarer  souls  who  are  drawn 
close  to  God,  If  thou  wilt  be  perfect,  says  Christ, 
go  sell  all  thy  goods,  and  give  them  to  the  poor ;  and 
coipe,  follow  Me.     These  shall  be  rich  in  Heaven. 

»Mt.  19,   16-21. 


RELIGIOUS  ORDERS  261 

Three  Vows.  The  way  of  perfection  is  the  path 
chosen  by  the  men  and  women  in  the  religious  orders. 
Whatever  may  be  the  good  works  with  which  they  are 
occupied,  their  first  and  common  work  is  to  glorify 
God  by  devoting  themselves  to  the  life  of  perfection. 
To  be  a  member  of  a  religious  order  does  not  mean 
that  one  is  perfect:  but  that  one  professes  to  prac- 
tice the  evaiigelical  counsels — poverty,  chastity  and 
obedience — which  are  means  of  perfection. 

The  members  of  the.  religious  orders  follow  Christ 
in  chastity.  What  was  said  about  the  celibacy  of 
the  priesthood  applies  with  much  the  same  force  to 
the  vow  of  chastity  of  the  orders.  Secondly,  they 
fulfill  the  counsel  of  Christ  about  distributing  their 
goods  to  the  poor.  They  may,  as  an  order,  hold  the 
titles  to  valuable  lands  and  buildings — hospitals,  col- 
leges, asylums.  But  they  are  only  the  legal  trustees 
of  estates  that  belong  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  which 
they  administer  in  His  name  for  the  benefit  of  man- 
kind. As  individuals  the  members  possess  nothing. 
The  individual  has  no  money  either  to  spend  on  him- 
self or  bequeath  to  his  relatives.  Thirdly,  they  fol- 
low Christ  in  obedience  to  all  lawful  authority,  in 
which  they  hear  His  voice.  The  different  orders 
have  been  founded  by  saintly  men  and  women.  Each 
order  has  its  Rule,  the  proper  observance  of  which 
makes  possible  the  realization  of  the  order  ^s  purpose. 
The  members  elect  their  own  superiors  for  a  defi- 
nite term  of  office.  All  promise  proper  obedience  to 
these  lawful  superiors  who  must  administer  the  in- 
stitution and  direct  its  work. 

Thus  poverty,  self-restraint,  obedience,  which 
many  in  the  world  must  endure  against  their  will, 
are  ennobled  by  being  adopted  voluntarily  and  for 
the  sake  of  God.  In  the  religious  orders  labor  finds 
a  new  dignity  in  unselfishness.  Zeal  finds  oppor- 
tunity directed  by  wisdom.    The  poorest  girl,  full 


262  HOLY  ORDERS 

of  charity  to  do  something  for  others,  but  helpless 
while  she  stands  alone,  becomes  in  the  convent,  part 
of  an  organization  mighty  enough  to  influence  the 
whole  world.  The  three  vows  of  the  Jesuits  and 
other  teaching  orders,  are  the  endowment  of  the 
schools  of  which  they  are  the  masters.  Their  indi- 
vidual talents  united  in  their  community  life  and 
husbanded  by  prudent  directors,  have  produced 
monuments  of  scholarship  and  zeal  beyond  the  hope' 
of  any  individual  ambition. 

Growth  in  Holiness.  Consecrated  in  humility,  self- 
discipline  and  calm  repose,  the  lives  of  men  and 
women  who  have  heeded  the  call  to  higher  things, 
grow  with  God.  In  the  retirement  and  meditation 
of  the  cloister  they  gather  the  moral  strength  by 
which  they  may  help  the  weak;  and  they  strive  for 
their  own  perfection  that  in  sanctity  they  may 
glorify  God.  Hours  of  silence  and  contemplation 
are  not  lost.  ^'Creative  force,"  says  Bishop  Spald- 
ing, **  secretes  itself.  It  grows  in  solitude  and  hid- 
ing: craves  silence  and  obscurity:  wraps  itself  in 
mystery.  "Where  it  works,  the  soul  bows  in  awe 
and  holy  shame:  and  from  those  who  live  in ^ the 
glare  and  noise  of  the  clamorous  world,  its  sacred 
powers  depart.  .  .  .  The  negative  exists  for  the  pos- 
itive. Rest  is  for  the  sake  of  action.  If  night  buries 
us  in  darkness,  it  is  that  we  may  be  all  alive  when 
day  breaks.  Silence  and  solitude  are  for  refresh- 
ment of  spirit.  Continence  is  for  self-control  and 
strength;  humility  for  good  sense;  abstinence  for 
health.  Self-denial  is  for  greater  ability  to  help 
others;  voluntary  poverty  is  for  their  enrichment: 
obedience  is  for  the  sake  of  liberty  and  the  common 
welfare. ' ' 

Three  Guiding  Angels.  In  his  ' '  Mornings  in  Flor- 
ence," Ruskin  pays  a  splendid  tribute  to  the  influ- 
ence  of   the   Mendicant   Orders   of   the   thirteenth 


RELIGIOUS  ORDERS  263 

century,  on  the  art  of  Tuscany,  and  speaks  of  the 
three  religious  vows  as  three  guiding  angels. 

*'Now  the  Gospel  of  Works,  according  to  St.  Fran- 
cis," he  writes,  *'lay  in  three  things.  You  must 
work  without  money,  and  be  poor.  You  must  work 
without  pleasure,  and  be  chaste.  You  must  work  ac- 
cording to  orders,  and  be  obedient.  Those  are  St. 
Francis'  three  articles  of  Italian  ^pera,  by  which 
grew  the  many  pretty  things  you  have  come  here 
to  see.  And  now  if  you  will  take  your  opera-glass, 
and  look  up  to  the  roof  above  Arnolfo's  building, 
you  will  see  it  is  a  pretty  Gothic  cross  vault  in  four 
quarters,  each  with  a  circular  medallion  painted  by 
Giotto.  That  over  the  altar  has  the  picture  of  St. 
Francis  himself.  The  other  three,  of  his  Command- 
ing Angels.  In  front  of  him  over  the  entrance  arch. 
Poverty.  On  his  right  hand.  Obedience.  On  his 
left,  Chastity.'' 

The  Sister  of  Charity.  The  orders  of  women  are 
revered  by  all  honorable  men.  To  the  noble  and  en- 
lightened, the  Sister  of  Charity  is  the  symbol  at 
once  of  human  virtue  and  of  divine  religion.  She  is 
not  of  the  world  and  yet  she  is  in  the  world.  Though 
she  has  chosen  the  humble  retirement  of  the 
convent,  "the  calls  of  mercy  make  her  modest  garb 
familiar  to  the  busy  street.  She  is  the  spouse  of 
Christ.  And  His  family — the  needy,  the  sick  and 
the  orphans  find  a  home  within  her  convent  walls. 
A  Sister  may  leave  the  order  and  return  to  the 
world,  if  she  finds  she  has  not  a  vocation  for  the  work. 
But  once  she  has  exchanged  the  dress  of  the 
world  for  the  nun's  modest  veil  and  habit,  she  sel- 
dom turns  back  from  the  way  of  perfection  and  its 
noble  works.  She  has  left  parents  and  brethren  and 
home,  and  behold  she  becomes  the  sister  of  human- 
ity. ** There  is  no  man,"  says  Jesus  Christ,  ''who 
hath  left  house,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  mother,  or 


264  HOLY  ORDERS 

father,  or  cliildren,  or  lands  for  My  sake  and  for  the 

Gospel's  sake,  but  shall  receive  a  hundred  fold  now 

in  this  time,  houses  and  brethren  and  sisters  and 
mothers  and  children  and  lands,  with  persecution: 
and  in  the  world  to  come,  eternal  life. ' '  ^ 

Some  Orders  and  Pounders. 

Died  A.  D. 

St.  Paul,    first   Hermit    342 

St.  Anthony,   Patriarch   of  Monks    356 

St.  Francis  of  Sales,  Visitation  Nuns    : .  1622 

St.  Peter  Nolasco,  Order  of  Our  Lady  of  Mercy 1258 

St.  Romuald,  The  Camaldoli     1027 

St.  John  of  Matha,   Trinitarians    1213 

St.  John  of  God,  Brothers  of  Charity,  for  the  sick  ....  1550 

St.  Benedict,  Order  of  Benedictines   543 

St.  Francis  of  Paula,  Order  of  Minims   1507 

St.  Albert,  Compiler  of  Carmelite  Rules  1214 

St.  Paul  of  the  Cross,  Passionist    1775 

St.  Peter   Celestine,   Founder  of  Celestines    1296 

St.  Philip  Neri,   Oratorians    1595 

St.  Angela   of    Brescia,    Ursulines    1540 

St.  Norbert,    Premonstratensians    1134 

St.  Juliana  Falconieri,  the  Mantellate  Servites     1340 

St.  John   Gualbert,    Valombrosa    1073 

St.  Camillus  de  Lellis,  for  Visiting  the  Sick    1648 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  Lazarists  and  Sisters  of  Charity  .  1660 

St.  Jerome   Emilianus,   The   Somasky    1537 

St.  Ignatius  of  Loyola,  Founder  of  the  Jesuits     1556 

St.  Alphonsus,  Liguori,   Redemptorists    1787 

St.  Dominic,    Order    of   Friars   Preachers    1221 

St.  Cajetan,  Theatines    1547 

St.  Clare  of  Assisi,  Poor  Clares   1253 

St.  Jane  Frances  de   Chantal,  Visitation   Convents    . . .  1641 

St.  Bernard  Ptolemy,  Olivetans  * 1348 

St.  Philip  Benizi,  Promoter  of  Servites  of  Mary   1285 

St.  Joseph  Calasanctius,  Order  of  the  Pious  Schools   . .  1648 

St.  Augustine,    Augustinians    430 

St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  Order  of  Friars  Minor   1226 

St.  Bruno,   Carthusian  Monks    1 101 

St.  Teresa,    Reformer   of   the   Barefooted   Carmelites    . .  1582 

St.  Ursula,    Patroness    of    Ursulines    650 

St.  Charles   Borromeo,   Oblates   of   St.   Charles    1584 

St.  Felix  of  Valois,  Trinitarians    1225 

2Mk.   10,  29-30. 


CHAPTER  XV 

MARRIAGE— THE  CHRISTIAN  HOME 
60.     THE  SACRAMENT  OF  MATRIMONY. 

Matrimony  is  the  vocation  of  most  men  and  women. 
The  love  that  draws  together  youthful  hearts,  looks 
forward  to  holy  wedlock  as  the  state  in  which  it 
will  receive  stability  and  consecration.  Leaving  fa- 
ther and  mother  and  cleaving  together,  the  married 
couple  become  a  new  social  unit.  Marriage  is  a 
condition  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  indi- 
vidual and  society.  It  is  more  than  a  wedding-day. 
It  is  the  life-work  of  a  man  and  woman  whose  dignity 
in  this  world  and  whose  fate  in  eternity,  depend 
largely  upon  its  worthy  fulfillment.  It  is  the  home : 
the  nursery  of  virtue  and  character  and  future  men 
and  women.  Parents  are  the  earliest  representatives 
of  God  to  the  children  entrusted  to  their  care.  More 
than  any  other  agency,  the  home  makes  or  mars  the 
child.  Marriage  is  the  cornerstone  of  society,  which 
is  made  up  of  home  units. 

In  view  of  the  far-reaching  responsibilities  of  the 
marriage  state  and  its  manifold  difficulties,  to  cope 
with  which  husband  and  wife  need  the  help  of  God, 
we  are  not  surprised  to  find  that  matrimony  is  num- 
bered among  the  sacraments  which  sanctify  .with 
divine  grace  and  raise  to  the  supernatural,  the  Chris- 
tian life. 

Sacrament.    Jesus  Christ,  who  blesserd  the  wed- 

2^65 


266  MARRIAGE 

r 

ding  of  Cana  by  His  presence  and  first  miracle,  and 
by  His  legislation  rescued  marriage  from  the  degra- 
dation into  which  it  had  fallen,  elevated  Christian 
marriage  to  sacramental  dignity. 

St.  Paul  compares  the  fellowship  of  Christian  hus- 
band and  wife,  cemented  by  the  grace  of  God,  to 
the  union  of  Christ  with  His  Church,  which  union  is 
supernatural  and  sealed  by  divine  grace.  The  Apos- 
tle writes:^  ''Let  women  be  subject  to  their  hus- 
bands, as  to  the  Lord:  because  the  husband  is  the 
head  of  the  wife,  as  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  Church. 
He  is  the  savior  of  His  body.  Therefore  as  the 
Church  is  subject  to  Christ,  so  also  let  wives  be  sub- 
ject to  their  husbands  in  all  things.  Husbands  love 
your  wives,  as  Christ  also  loved  the  Church  and  de- 
livered Himself  up  for  it  that  He  might  sanctify  it, 
cleansing  it  by  the  laver  of  water  in  the  word  of 
life.  ...  So  also  ought  men  to  love  their  wives  as 
their  own  bodies.  He  that  loveth  his  wife,  loveth 
himself.  For  no  man  ever  hated  his  own  flesh;  but 
nourisheth  and  cherisheth  it,  as  also  Christ  doeth 
the  Church :  because  we  are  members  of  His  body,  of 
His  flesh,  and  of  His  bones.  For  this  cause  shall  a 
man  leave  his  father  and  mother,  and  shall  cleave  to 
his  wife,  and  they  shall  be  two  in  one  flesh:  this  is 
a  great  sacrament ;  but  I  speak  in  Christ  and  in  the 
Church.'' 

The  sacrament  of  matrimony  consists  in  the  mar- 
riage contract  itself:  so  that  whenever  a  Christian 
man  and  woman  are  lawfully  united  in  marriage, 
they  receive  also  the  sacrament  of  matrimony:  and 
on  the  other  hand,  if  for  any  reason  they  should  not 
receive  the  sacrament,  the  contract  itself  would  be 
null  and  void.  For  Christ  raised  the  marriage  union 
to.  the  dignity  of  a  sacrament.  He  did  not  add  the 
character  of  a  sacrament  to  it,  by  way  of  supple- 

»Epli.   5,  22-32. 


*    SACRAMENT  OP  MATRIMONY  2G7 

ment,  as  something  accessory  and  separable.  The 
minister  of  this  sacrament  is  not  the  priest,  but  the 
contracting  parties  themselves,  and  that  by  the  very 
act  of  the  marriage  agreement  or  mutual  consent. 

Impediments.  The  welfare  of  society  demands 
that  the  power  of  making  a  contract  of  such  im- 
portance as  marriage  should  be  controlled  by  the 
proper  legislative  authority.  The  Church  as  the  cus- 
todian of  the  sacraments  proclaims  several  impedi- 
ments which,  under  certain  conditions,  prevent  par- 
ties from  being  joined  in  lawful  wedlock  and  render 
their  attempted  marriage  contract  null  and  void. 
These  annulling  impediments  are  either  of  divine 
law  or  of  ecclesiastical  institution.  They  are  im- 
puberty;  impotence;  violence  or  compulsion;  abduc- 
tion and  detention;  error  regarding  the  person's 
identity;  crime — murder  of  spouse,  or  adultery,  or 
both,  looking  to  marriage  with  the  accomplice;  cer- 
tain relationships ;  an  existing  marriage ;  sacred  or- 
ders or  solemn  religious  vows;  disparity  of  religion 
— when  one  of  the  parties  is  not  baptized;  clandes- 
tinity — a  Catholic  must  be  married  before  a  priest 
and  witnesses.  There  are  some  lesser  impediments 
that  do  not  nullify  the  contract. 

The  Church  can  dispense  from  certain  impedi- 
ments: but  it  is  only  for  grave  reasons  that  dispen- 
sations can  be  granted.  The  more  easily  to  discover 
any  possibly  existing  impediments,  the  bans  are  or- 
dinarily published  at  Mass  on  three  Sundays  before 
the  marriage. 

Mixed  Marriages.  To  promote  both  the  domestic 
peace  and  the  eternal  salvation  of  her  children,  the 
Church  is  opposed  to  mixed  marriages,  as  those  are 
called  where  husband  and  wife  are  not  of  the  same 
faith.  There  will  always  be  more  than  enough  ele- 
ments of  dissension  asserting  themselves  and  threat- 
ening the  family  unity  and  peace,  without  husband 


268  MARRIAGE 

and  wife  being  divided  on  the  very  important  and 
far-reaohing  matter  of  religion.  Two  who  share  the 
same  joys  and  sorrows,  hearts  that  beat  in  unison 
to  the  same  memories  and  hopes,  lives  merged  into 
one  for  better  or  worse,  for  richer  or  poorer,  in  sick- 
ness and  health,  even  unto  death,  should  not  be  di- 
vided when  they  approach  their  common  God,  in 
adoration,  in  petition  in  the  hour  of  need,  and  in 
grateful  thanksgiving  for  blessings  in  common  en- 
joyed. In  the  guiding  faith  and-  sustaining  hope 
and  transforming  charity  of  religion,  with  its  pious 
practices  to  encourage  and  its  divine  sacraments  to 
sanctify,  man  and  wife  should  still  be  one  and  so  be- 
queath to  their  children,  as  their  richest  legacy,  the 
heirloom  of  their  common  faith. 

That  religious  differences  are  not  only  a  source  of 
disunion  in  families,  but  very  often  end  by  destroy- 
ing altogether  the  religion  of  the  home,  appears  from 
the  following  data  published  in  Association  Men 
(November,  1901).  The  figures  are  derived  not 
from  Catholic  sources,  but  fron^  a  census  of  men  be- 
tween 16  and  35,  in  representative  ci1;ies,  towns  and 
rural  districts  through  the  country: 

"Where  one  of  the  parents  is  Catholic  and  the  other 
Protestant,  only  34  per  cent,  of  the  young  men  be- 
long to  any  church. 

Where  both  parents  are  of  the  same  Protestant  de- 
nomination, 68  per  cent,  of  the  young  men  are  church 
members. 

Where  both  parents  are  Catholics,  92  per  cent,  of 
the  young  men  go  to  church. 

In  other  words,  from  the  Catholic  families  of  the 
country,  only  8  young  men  out  of  100  are  lost  to  the 
Church:  from  the  Protestant  families  where  the 
parents  are  of  the  same  denomination,  32  young  men 
in  100  are  lost  to  organized  Christianity:  while  in 
the  families  of  mixed  Catholic  and  Protestant  mar- 


.  DIVORCE  269 

riages,  66  young  men  out  of  100  are  lost  to  all  clmrch 
afifiliation.  Two-thirds  of  the  sons  of  mixed  mar- 
riages going  to  swell  the  army  of  the  great  un- 
churched who  are  drifting  back  to  paganism!  What 
a  terrible  responsibility  on  the  souls  of  the  parents! 

The  Church  grants  dispensations  and  consents  to 
witness  mixed  marriage^  only  when  coerced  by 
grave  reasons,  and  after  taking  measures  to  remove 
their  danger  or  at  least  reduce  it  to  a  minimum. 

Unity  of  Marriage.  The  Christian  religion  stands 
for  the  unity  of  marriage ;  the  union  of  one  man 
with  one  woman.  In  restoring  marriage  to  its  pris- 
tine dignity,  Christ  struck  a  mortal  blow  at  polygamy 
which  has  generally  characterized  pagan  marriage. 
Polygamy  may  not  be  contrary  to  the  primary  end 
of  marriage,  that  is,  the  propagation  of  the  race. 
It  was  indeed  permitted  to  the  ancient  Jews.  But 
it  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  secondary  end  of 
marriage,  the  mutual  love  and  help  of  husband  and 
Avife.  Christ  taught:  ''Have  ye  not  read  that  He 
who  made  man  in  the  beginning  made  them  male  and 
female  ?  And  they  two  shall  be  in  one  flesh.  There- 
fore now  they  are  not  two  but  one  flesh. '^^  Polyg- 
amy means  the  degradation  of  woman.  In  driving 
polygamy  from  the  civilized  and  Christian  world, 
the  religion  of  Christ  has  elevated  woman  to  her 
rightful  position  as  man's  equal  and  helpmate. 

61.    DIVORCE. 

In  restoring  marriage  to  the  condition  of  its  divine 
institution,  Christ  condemned  the  divorce  which  dis- 
graced the  Jewish  as  well  as  the  pagan  w^orld.  In 
the  ancient  Roman  Empire,  w^hich  was  beginning 
the  career  of  decadence  that  was  to  end  in  its  ruin, 
marriage  had  sunk  to  a  depth  of  degradation  that 

«Mt.  19,  4-6. 


270  MARRIAGE 


• 


was  pagan  indeed.  Men*  dismissed  their  wives  at 
their  pleasure.  Noble  ladies  were  the  consorts  of 
many  successive  husbands.  Though  such  women  oc- 
cupied the  place  of  wives,  they  were  seldom  crowned 
with  the  glory  of  motherhood.  No  law  protected 
the  unwelcome  babe  from  murder  at  the  hands  of  its 
own  father.  When  marriage  fell  off  alarmingly,  the 
emperors  encouraged  paternity  in  vain.  The  home, 
the  cornerstone  of  society,  was  decayed,  and  the 
whole  social  fabric  tottered  to  its  fall.  Among 
the  Jews  the  lax  school  of  Hillel  contended  against 
the  stricter  school  of  Schammai,  that  divorce  should 
be  granted  not  for  few  but  for  many  reasons. 

What  is  Divorce?  Christ  condemned  the  teachings 
both  of  Hillel  and  Schammai.  He  abolished  the  di- 
vorce which  implies  the  dissolution  of  the  marriage 
bond  and  hence  the  freedom  of  the  divorced  man 
and  woman  to  marry  new  partners.  For  grave  rea- 
son, He  allows  a  separation  which  implies  the  cessa- 
tion of  the  common  life  but  leaves  the  marriage  bond 
intact.  This  distinction  between  divorce  a  vinculo, 
and  separation  a  toro  et  mensa,  is  recognized  by- 
many  states.  Civil  jurisprudence  uses  the  word  di- 
vorce for  both  the  breaking  of  the  bond  and  the  sep- 
aration from  bed  and  board,  but  recognizes  their  dis- 
tinction. It  defines  divorce  as  ^'the  dissolution  or 
partial  suspension  by  law  of  the  marriage  relation." 
Declaration  of  nullity  is  sometimes  improperly  called 
divorce:  for  if  the  marriage  contract  was  null  and 
void  from  the  beginning,  on  account  of  some  annul- 
ling impediment,  the  declaration  of  the  nullity  by 
the  proper  authorities  cannot  be  said  to  divorce  the 
parties  who  were  never  really  married. 

The  Church  taught  the  law  of  Christ  to  the  na- 
tions which  she  Christianized,  and  as  the  Catholic 
doctrine  penetrated  the  national  life,  the  laws  of 
Europe  reflected  the  divine  truth,  that  in  Christian 


DIVORCE  l>71 

marriage,  when  the  marriage  is  valid  and  consum- 
mated, there  can  never  be  an  absolute  divorce.^ 
The  marriage  was  "for  better  or  worse,  for  richer 
or  poorer,  in  sickness  and  health,  till  death  do  us 
part."  This  law  of  Christ  is  not  only  carried  out 
in  the  lives  of  individual  Catholics,  but  still  im- 
presses the  legislation  of  the  countries  that  are  pre- 
dominantly Catholic.  Inltaly,  Spain  and  Portugal 
there  is  no  absolute  divorce.  Austria-Hungary 
grants  no  absolute  divorce  to  members  of  the  Cath- 
olic faith.  In  Mexico,  Argentina,  Brazil,  Bolivia, 
Chile,  Colombia,  Ecuador,  Paraguay,  Uruguay,  Cuba, 
only  limited  divorce  or  separation  is  permitted.  In 
the  upheaval  of  the  French  Revolution,  France  re- 
pudiated the  Christian  law  and  adopted  divorce ;  ab- 
rogated divorce  in  1816;  and  reintroduced  it  in 
1884. 

1,274,341  Divorces.  With  the  so-called  Reforma- 
tion in  the  sixteenth  century,  came  the  denial  of 
the  sacramental  character  of  marriage  and  the  rec- 
ognition of  absolute  divorce  by  those  who  went  out 
from  the  ancient  Church.  The  divorce  evil  has 
reached  its  climax  in  the  twentieth  century  and  in 
the  United  States.  Divorce  stalks  in  the  highest  so- 
ciety. Women  are  neither  shamed  nor  ashamed  for 
living  with  another  woman's  husband,  when  the  di- 
vorce court  has  licensed  the  co-habitation.  Institu- 
tions that  are  loud  in  denouncing  the  polygamy  of 
Utah,  are  silent  abaut  the  tandem  polygamy  in  their 
midst.  The  spread  of  divorce  has  been  accompanied 
by  the  fearful  crime  of  race-suicide  ^  which  is  likely 
to  follow  loss  of  faith  in  the  sanctity  of  marriage  and 
the  home.  In  the  measure  that  men  cut  loose  from 
the  moorings  of  Christian  faith,  they  drift  downward 
toward  pagan  degradation. 

The  federal  government  in  1908  issued  a  Census 

»  Cf.  Pauline  privilege,  I.  Cor.  7,   12-15. 
«Gen.  38,  9-10. 


272  MAERIAGE 

Bulletin  upon  marriage  and  divorce  in  the  United 
States.  The  growth  of  divorce  is  unprecedented. 
The  number  of  our  divorces  exceeds  that  of  any 
Christian  nation,  if  not  of  all  Christian  nations  com- 
bined. The  only  modern  nation  that  surpasses  us  in 
this  infamy  is  pagan  Japan. 

In  20  years,  1867-1886 328,716  divorces. 

In  20  years,  1887-1906 945,625  divorces. 

In  40  years,  1867-1906 1,274,341  divorces. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  40-year  period,  divorces 
occurred  at  the  rate  of  10,000  a  year :  at  its  end,  66,- 
000  a  year.  From  1890  to  1900,  the  population  in- 
creased 21  per  cent.,  while  divorce  increased  66  per 
cent.  In  1870  there  were  29  divorcs  per  100,000 
population;  in  1905  there  were  82.  Two-thirds  of 
the  divorces  were  granted  to  the  wife  and  only  10 
per  cent,  of  these  on  the  grounds  of  adultery.  Of 
those  granted  to  husbands  28  per  cent,  were  for  adul- 
tery. Only  15  per  cent,  of  all  divorces  were  con- 
tested. Of  the  divorced  couples  married  in  foreign 
countries,  36.9  per  cent,  were  married  in  Canada; 
12.7  per  cent,  in  England;  16.1  per  cent,  in  Ger- 
many; 1.9  per  cent,  in  Ireland.  About  50  per  cent, 
of  the  divorced  couples  have  children. 

Cause  and  Cure.  The  million  and  quarter  divorces 
in  four  decades,  in  our  country,  involved  the  lives 
of  two  and  one-half  million  men  and  women  and 
probably  more  children.  Five  millions  of  lives 
blighted  by  what  has  been  called  the  American  sin ! 
About  75  per  cent,  of  the  boys  in  two  reformatories 
(one  in  Ohio,  the  other  in  Illinois),  were  found  to 
come  from  families  broken  up  by  death  or  divorce, 
** mainly  by  divorce.''  In  disrupting  the  family,  in 
stripping  parents  of  their  honor  and  influence  with 
their  children,  in  scandalizing  the  little  ones,  and 
robbing  them  of  parental  example  and  the  home 
training  which  is  the  most  decisive  factor  in  their 


DIVORCE  273 

education,  in  destroying  the  home  and  the  life  work 
that  marriage  and  home  stand  for,  divorce  reveals 
itself  even  to  (^ur  natural  reason  as  an  intolerable 
evil.  The  causes  of  divorce  are  lack  of  virtue, — 
pride,  avarice,  lust,  anger,  gluttony,  envy,  sloth.  In 
a  word  the  cause  is  neglect  of  duty  to  fellowman 
and  to  God.  The  remedy  for  divorce  is  religion: 
faith  in  God  and  obedience  to  His  law. 

Law  of  Christ.  The  law  of  Jesus  Christ  on  this 
subject,  is  recorded  in  half  a  dozen  places  in  the 
New  Testament.  The  Pharisees  came  to  Jesus  tempt- 
ing Him  and  saying :  ''Is  it  lawful  for  a  man  to  put 
his  wife  away  for  every  cause?" 

He  answered  and  said  to  them:  ''Have  ye  not 
read  that  He  who  made  man  in  the  beginning  made 
them  male  and  female?  And  He  said:  For  this 
cause  shall  a  man  leave  father  and  mother  and  shall 
cleave  unto  his  wife,  and  they  two  shall  be  one  flesh. 
Wherefore  they  are  no  more  two  but  one  flesh. 
What  Therefore  God  Hath  Joined  Together,  Let  Not 
Man  Put  Asunder." 

They  said  to  Him:  "Why  then  did  Moses  com- 
mand to  give  a  bill  of  divorce,  and  to  put  away?" 

He  said  to  them :  ' '  Moses,  because  of  the  hardness 
of  your  hearts,  suffered  you  to  put  away  your  wives. 
But  From  the  Beginning  It  Was  Not  So.  And  I  say 
to  you.  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  except 
it  be  for  fornication,  and  shall  marry  another,  com- 
mitteth  adultery:  and  he  that  shall  marry  her  that 
is  put  aw^ay,  committeth  adultery."^ 

Here  Jesus  Christ  insists  on  the  indissoluble  nature 
of  the  marriage  contract.  He  allows  a  separation  in 
case  of  marital  infidelity.  But  He  warns  His  hearers 
that  "he  that  marrieth  her  that  is  put  away,  commit- 
eth  adultery";  just  as  the  husband  who  put  her 
away,  shall  be  guilty  of  adultery  if  he  marries  an- 

»Mt.   19,   3-9. 


274  MARRIAGE 

other.  Some  non-Catholic  writers  think  that  in 
Matthew's  text  they  find  justification  for  re-mar- 
riage after  marital  infidelity.  But  in  this  they  err. 
When  this  obscure  passage  from  Matthew  is  read 
in  the  light  of  the  other  statements  of  Christ's  teach- 
ing on  divorce,  which  are  to  be  found  in  the  inspired 
writings,  it  will  be  found  that  Christ  allows  a  sepa- 
ration from  bed  and  board,  but  no  absolute  divorce. 

St:  Luke  writes:  ''Every  one  that  putteth  away 
his  wife  and  marrieth  another,  committ^th  adultery: 
and  he  that  marrieth  her  that  is  put  away  from  her 
husband,  committeth  adultery."* 

St.  Mark  records:  ''Whosoever  shall  put  away 
his  wife  and  marry  another,  committeth  adultery 
against  her :  and  if  the  wife  shall  put  away  her  hus- 
band and  be  married  to  another,  she  committeth 
adultery. ' '  ^ 

St.  Paul  writes:  "To  them  that  are  married  not 
I,  but  the  Lord  commandeth,  that  the  wife  depart  not 
from  her  husband :  and  if  she  do  depart,  that  she  re- 
main unmarried,  or  be  reconciled  to  her  husband."^ 

"Whilst  her  husband  liveth,  she  shall  be  called  an 
adulteress,  if  she  be  with  another  man."^ 

"A  woman  is  bound  by  the  law  as  long  as  her 
husband  liveth :  but  if  her  husband  die,  she  is  at  lib- 
erty; let  her  marry  whom  she  will."^ 

The  teaching  of  the  inspired  writers,  and  the 
teaching  of  the  Catholic  Church  since  their  time  to 
our  own,  echo  the  words  of  the  divine  Master: 
"What  God  hath  joined  together,  let  not  man  put 
asunder. ' ' 

♦Luke,  16,  18.  » I.  Cor.  7,   10-11.  •  I.  Cor.  7,  39. 

»Mk.  10,   11-12.  'Rom.  7,  3. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

EXTREME  UNCTION 

62.    EXTREME  UNCTION— THE  DYING  CHRIS- 

TIAN. 

The  Christian  Religion,  which  with  sacramental 
helps  has  followed  man  through  the  several  stages 
of  life,  does  not  forget  hiin  in  the  weary  days  of 
sickness  and  the  supreme  hour  of  death.  Then  the 
soul  craves  consolation  and  encouragement,  and  is 
often  in  peculiar  spiritual  peril.  The  Good  Samari- 
tan, Jesus  Christ,  comes  in  the  person  of  His  ambas- 
sador, **  pouring  in  oil'^  and  repeating  words  of  heal- 
ing for  body  and  soul.  Jesus  Christ  is  our  Great 
Physician.  He  knows  human  nature  *s  every  want. 
The  child  can  say :  I  have  a  God  who  was  once  a  lit- 
tle child  as  I  am.  The  old  man  racked  on  the  bed  of 
pain,  turns  with  greater  confidence  to  the  risen 
Christ  when  he  recalls  the  agonized  cries  of  the 
Cross.  In  His  earthly  life  Christ  ever  showed  the 
keenest  sympathy  for  the  sick  and  suffering.  After 
the  ills  of  the  soul,  the  ills  of  the  body  engaged  His 
kindest  attention.  He  is  still  our  Savior.  His  sym- 
pathy for  suffering  humanit}'  has  not  lessened.  It 
is  not  surprising  then  to  find  in  His  Church  a  sacra- 
ment for  the  sick  and  dying. 

Anointing.  In  the  following  words  the  Holy 
Ghost,  through  the  Apostle  St.  James,^  leaves  written 
record  of  Extreme  Unction,  the  sacrament  that 
brings  comfort  and  spiritual  strength  and  often  bod- 
ily health  to  the  dying  Christian. 

**Is  any  man  sick  among  you?     Let  him  bring  in 

1  Epistle  of  St.  James,  5,   141 5. 

275 


276  EXTREME  UNCTION 

the  priests  of  the  Church ;  and  let  them  pray  over 
him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord : 
and  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick  man  and 
the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up  ;  and  if  he  be  in  sins,  they 
shall  be  forgiven  him. ' ' 

Sacrament.  In  administering  the  Sacrament  of 
Extreme  Unction,  the  priest  anoints  in  the  form  of  a 
cross,  the  eyes,  ears,  nose,  mouth,  hands  and  feet, 
with  oil  of  olives  consecrated  by  the  Bishop :  and  he 
prays  that  the  sins  may  be  forgiven  which  the  sick 
man  has  committed  through  the  different  bodily 
senses — sight,  hearing,  smell,  taste,  speech,  touch  and 
the  straying  of  the  feet.  The  anointing  with  oil,  sig- 
nificant of  healing  and  strength,  is  symbolic  of  the 
spiritual  grace  conferred.  The  anointing  and  prayer 
of  faith  is  made,  as  St.  James  says,  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord.  The  effect,  the  inspired  writer  tells  us, 
are  the  forgiveness  of  the  patient's  sins,  if  he  be  in 
sin;  and  his  raising  up.  Here  then  are  the  matter 
and  form,  the  outward  sign  and  the  inward  grace, 
and  the  institution  by  Christ,  which  characterize  ev- 
ery sacrament. 

The  gift  of  this  sacrament  is  prefigured  in  the 
anointing  recorded  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark.  At 
the  command  of  Jesus  the  Apostles  ''going  there- 
fore preached  that  men  should  do  penance ;  and  they 
cast  out  many  evil  spirits;  and  anointed  with  oil 
many  that  were  sick  and  healed  them."^  The  sac- 
rament here  insinuated,  and  elsewhere  described  by 
St.  James,  has  been  administered  by  the  Church 
constantly  since  the  time  of  the  Apostles.  The  Fa- 
thers of  the  different  centuries  bear  it  eloquent  testi- 
mony. The  anointing  of  the  sick  is  counted  as  one 
of  the  seven  sacraments  also  by  the  Oriental  sects 
that  left  the  unity  of  the  Church  in  the  early  cen- 
turies. 

'Mt.   6,   12-13. 


THE  DYING  CHRISTIAN  277 

Effect.  Of  the  effect  of  Extreme  Unction  the 
Council  of  Trent  says:  "This  effect  is  the  grace  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  whose  unction  blots  out  sins,  if  any 
remain  to  be  expiated,  and  the  consequences  of  sins ; 
and  alleviates  and  strengthens  the  soul  of  the  sick 
person  by  exciting  in  him  a  great  confidence  in  the 
divine  mercy,  sustained  by  which  he  bears  more 
lightly  the  troubles  and  sufferings  of  disease,  and 
more  easily  resists  the  temptations  of  the  demon 
waiting  for  his  heel;  and  sometimes,  when  it  is  ex- 
pedient for  the  soul's  salvation,  recovers  bodily 
health.'' 

The  effects  of  Extreme  Unction  are  the  healing  of 
the  soul  and  so  far  as  is  expedient  for  salvation,  the 
healing  of  the  body  also.  The  first  purpose  of  the 
sacrament  is  to  confer  grace  and  remit  sin :  a  condi- 
tional and  subordinate  end  is  the  recovery  of  the 
body.  It  remits  not  only  venial  faults  and  the  re- 
mains of  sin,  but  may  remit,  even  mortal  sin  itself. 
It  is  the  complement  of  Penance.  The  sick  man  may 
be  excused  on  account  of  his  physical  condition, 
which  leaves  him  unable  or  even  unconscious,  from 
confessing  his  sins  or  eliciting  an  act  of  perfect  con- 
trition. Extreme  Unction  will  remit  his  sins  if  there 
exists  in. his  soul  sorrow  for  them  elicited  in  an 
act  of  attrition  not  afterward  revoked ;  which  habit- 
ual attrition  is  likely  to  be  present  in  the  Chrstian 
soul. 

One  of  the  effects  or  remains  of  sin  is  the  spiritual 
debility  and  depression  caused  by  the  consciousness 
of  having  sinned.  The  sacrament  of  the  dying  helps 
the  sick  man,  with  resolute  courage  to  repel  the  as- 
saults of  the  tempter  in  what  is  likely  to  be  the  last 
and  decisive  conflict  in  the  warfare  of  eternal  sal- 
vation. Wlien  the  outlook  of  eternity  is  brought 
vividly  before  the  Christian  by  the  probability  of 
death,  the   sacrament   confers   the   grace   specially 


278  EXTREME  UNCTION 

needed  to  fortify  him  in  facing  the  tremendous  is- 
sue. 

Testimony  of  Holmes.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes, 
the  New  England  writer,  who  was  a  physician  by 
profession  and  practice,  records  in  his  ' '  Over  the  Tea 
Cups,"  his  observation  of  the  effect  of  the  sacraments 
upon  the  dying  Christian.  Though  he  cannot  ob- 
serve the  deeper  effects  of  the  sacraments  upon  the 
soul,  and  though  he  misses  the  true  explanation  of 
the  effects  which  he  does  observe,  his  observations 
are  valuable  as  the  testimony  of  an  eminent  non- 
Catholic  physician  to  a  fact. 

He  writes:  '*So  far  as  I  have  observed  persons 
nearing  the  end  of  life,  the  Roman  Catholics  under- 
stand the  business  of  dying  better  than  Protestants. 
They  have  an  expert  by  them,  armed  with  spiritual 
specifics,  in  which  they,  both  patient  and  priestly 
ministrant,  place  implicit  trust.  Confession,  the 
Eucharist,  Extreme  Unction,  these  all  inspire  a  con- 
fidence which,  without  this  symbolism,  is  too  apt  to 
be  wanting  in  over-sensitive  natures.  ...  If  Cow- 
per  had  been  a  good  Roman  Catholic,  instead  of  hav- 
ing his  conscience  handled  by  a  Protestant  like  John 
Newton,  he  would  not  have  died  despairing,  looking 
upon  himself  as  a  castaway.  I  have  seen  a  good 
many  Roman  Catholics  on  their  dying  beds;  and  it 
has  always  appeared  to  me  that  they  accepted  the 
inevitable  with  a  composure  which  showed  that  their 
belief,  whether  or  not  the  best  to  Jive  by,  was  a  bet- 
ter one  to  die  by,  than  most  of  the  harder  creeds  that 
have  replaced  it.'' 

Bodily  Health.  Of  the  physical  improvement 
which  often  follows  the  reception  of  Extreme  Unc- 
tion, the  Catholic  Encyclopedia  says:  *'As  a  condi- 
tional and  occasional  effect  of  Extreme  Unction 
comes  the  restoration  of  bodily  health;  an  effect 
which  is  vouched  for  by  the  witness  of  experience 


THE  DYING  CHRISTIAN  279 


^ 


in  past  ages  and  in  our  own  day.  Theologians  have 
failed  to  agree  in  stating  the  condition  on  which  this 
effect  depends,  or  in  explaining  the  manner  in  which 
it  is  produced.  'When  it  is  expedient  for  the  souPs 
salvation/  is  how  Trent  expresses  the  condition. 
...  Of  several  explanations  that  are  offered,  the 
simplest  and  most  reasonable  is  that  which  under- 
stands the  condition  mentioned,  not  of  the  future 
and  perhaps  remote  event  of  actual  salvation,  but 
of  present  spiritual  advantage,  which,  independently 
of  the  ultimate  result,  recovery  may  bring  to  the 
sick  person:  and  holds,  subject  to  this  condition, 
that  this  physical  effect,  which  is  in  itself  natural, 
is  obtained  mediately  through  and  dependently  upon 
the  spiritual  effects  already  mentioned.  The  forti- 
fying of  the  soul  by  manifold  graces,  by  which  over- 
anxious fears  are  banished,  and  a  general  feeling 
of  comfort  and  courage  and  of  humble  confidence  in 
God's  mercy  and  peaceful  resignation  to  His  will  are 
inspired,  reacts  as  a  natural  consequence  on  the  phys- 
ical condition  of  the  patient,  and  this  reaction  is 
sometimes  the  factor  that  decides  the  issue  of  certain 
diseases.  This  mediate  and  dependent  way  of  effect- 
ing restoration  of  health  is  the  way  indicated  by  the 
Council  of  Trent  in  the  passage  quoted  above,  and 
the  view  proposed  is  in  conformity  with  the  best  and 
most  ancient  theoretical  teaching  on  the  subject  and 
avoids  the  seemingly  unanswerable  difficulties  in- 
volved in  opposing  views.  Nor  does  it  reduce  this 
effect  of  Extreme  Unction  to  the  level  of  those  per- 
fectly natural  phenomena  known  to  modern  science 
as  'faith  cures.'  For  it  is  not  maintained  that  re- 
covery will  follow  in  any  particular  case  unless  this 
result  is  spiritually  profitable  to  the  patient — and  of 
this  God  alone  is  the  judge — and  it  is  admitted  that 
the  spiritual  effect  from  which  the  physical  con- 
naturally  results,  is  itself  strictly  supernatural.'' 


280  EXTREME  UNCTION 

Nunc  Dimittis.  If  the  sick  man  is  not  destined  to 
recover,  then  strengthened  by  the  divine  sacraments, 
the  plenary  indulgence  given  in  the  hour  of  death, 
the  prayers  of  his  Church  and  friends,  he  can  say 
his  ''nunc  dimittis"  with  calm  faith  and  hope,  as  he 
awaits  his  summons. 

''Now  thou  dost  dismiss  thy  servant,  0  Lord,  ac- 
cording to  thy  word  in  peace:  Because  my  eyes 
have  seen  thy  salvation,  which  thou  hast  prepared 
before  the  face  of  all  peoples:  A  light  to  the  rev- 
elation of  the  gentiles  and  the  glory  of  thy  people 
Israel."^ 

•Luke  2,  29-32. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 
63.     THE  LAST  THINGS. 

The  Christian  life  is  not  ended  when  the  Church 
has  chanted  her  Requiem  over  the  dead ;  and  blessed 
the  fallen  "temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost/*  with  tears 
and  prayers,  with  holy  water  and  the  incense  of 
sweet  spices;  and  laid  the  mortal  remains  in  the 
bosom  of  Mother  Earth.  The  soul  is  immortal  and 
lives  on  even  when  its  mansion  of  clay  has  fallen 
back  to  the  native  dust.  How  fares  it  with  the 
dead,  when  they  have  lifted  that  veil  which  divides 
time  from  eternity  and  entered  the  spirit  land,  to- 
ward which  we  all  are  moving  like  a  mighty  proces- 
sion, but  from  whose  shores  no  one  returns? 

The  Scriptures  tell  us  that  every  man  shall  go  into 
his  eternity.  When  the  night  of  death  cometh  when 
no  man  can  work,^  the  soul  shall  turn  from  its  judg- 
ment, toward  heaven  or  hell,  accordingly  as  it  has 
*  accomplished  or  failed  to  accomplish  during  the  pro- 
bation time  of  life,  the  one  work  for  which  it  was 
created.  ''What  doth  it  profit  a  man,'*  says  Jesus 
Christ,  ''if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  suffer  the 
loss  of  his  own  soul  ?  Or  what  exchange  shall  a  man 
give  for  his  soul?  For  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come 
in  the  glory  of  His  Father,  with  His  angels,  and 
then  will  He  render  to  every  man  according  to  his 
works.'' 2 

iJohn  9,  4.  2Mt.   16,   26. 

-281 


282  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 

The  Judgment.  Immediately  after  death  comes 
for  each  soul  its  Particular  Judgment.  The  soul  is 
not  in  the  grave  with  the  body.  "The  dust  shall 
return  to  its  earth  from  whence  it  was,  and  the 
spirit,  to  God  who  gave  it.'^^  "I  desire  to  be  dis- 
solved and  to  be  wdth  Christ,"^  wrote  St.  Paul,  ex- 
pressing the  confidence  of  receiving  his  reward  im- 
mediately after  death.  But  the  obtainment  of  his 
reward  presupposes  that  his  works  should  be  ac- 
knowledged— in  other  words,  that  he  should  be 
judged.  "It  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  and 
after  this  the  judgment.''^  The  soul's  condition  of 
merit  or  demerit  or  need  of  purgation,  carries  it  to 
its  own  place. 

At  the  end  of  time  the  General  Judgment  will 
make  manifest  to  all,  the  justice,  wisdom  and  good- 
ness of  God  in  His  dealings  with  man,  which  the 
individual  may  not  always  recognize  in  the  govern- 
ment of  this  world.  Thereafter  nc  one  may  com- 
plain in  the  words  of  the  psalmist:  "Behold  these 
are  sinners  and  yet  abounding  in  the  world  they 
have  obtained  riches.  And  I  said,  then  have  I  in 
vain  justified  my  heart  and  washed  my  hands  among 
the  innocent,  and  have  been  scourged  all  the  day. ' '  ^ 
St.  Paul  writes:  "According  to  thy  hardness  and 
impenitent  heart  thou  treasurest  up  to  thyself  wrath 
against  the  day  of  wrath  and  revelation  of  the  just 
judgment  of  God. ' '  ^  The  final  judgment  will  mani- 
fest also  the  glory  and  triumphs  of  Christ.  "The 
Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  His  majesty  and  all  the 
angels  with  Him :  then  shall  He  sit  upon  the  seat  of 
His  majesty,  and  all  nations  shall  be  gathered  to- 
gether before  him."^ 

•Ecoles.   12,  7. 

*Phil.  1,  23;  Cf.  Act.  1,  25;  Luke  16,  22;  23,  43. 

6Heb.  9,   27.  ^  Rom.  2,   5-8. 

«Ps.    72.  'Mt.  25,  31-33. 


THE  LAST  THINGS  283 

The  Apocalypse  paints  a  thrilliug  picture  of  the 
universal  vindication :  ®  *  *  I  saw  a  great  white 
throne  and  One  sitting  upon  it,  from  whose  face  the 
earth  and  heaven  fled  away  ^^  and  there  was  no  place 
found  for  them.  And  I  saw  the  dead,  great  and 
small  standing  in  the  presence  of  the  throne.  And 
a  book  was  opened  .  .  .  which  is  the  Book  of  Life. 
And  the  dead  were  judged  by  those  things  which 
were  written  in  the  Book  according  to  their  works. 
And  the  sea  gave  up  its  dead  that  were  in  it.^^  And 
death  and  hell  gave  up  their  dead  that  were  in  them. 
And  they  were  judged  every  one  according  to  their 
works.  ^' 

Heaven.  After  the  particular  judgment  the  souls 
of  those  who  are  perfectly  pure,  are  at  once  admitted 
to  the  contemplation  of  God  face  to  face.  Heaven  is 
the  abode  of  the  blessed  where  they  enjoy,  in  the 
company  of  Christ  and  the  angels,  the  immediate 
vision  of  God.  **The  just  shall  enter  into  eternal 
life.'*  ^2  They  shall  reign  for  all  eternity."  The 
eternal  happiness  of  the  blessed  consists  in  their  con- 
templation of  God,  or  the  Beatific  Vision.  ''We 
now  see  through  a  glass,  in  a  dark  manner ;  but  then 
face  to  face.  Now  I  know  in  part ;  but  then  I  shall 
know  even  as  I  am  known. ' '  "  The  Beatific  Vision 
is  not  due  to  our  human  nature.  It  is  only  by  their 
elevation  to  the  supernatural  order  that  the  blessed 
are  capable  of  this  direct  contemplation  by  which 
they  possess  God.  With  this  direct  vision  is  coupled 
the  intensest  love  of  God.  The  infinite  beauty  of 
Him  whom  the  blessed  contemplate  in  all  His  per- 
fections, draws  them  irresistibly  to  Him.  From 
this  possession  of  the  Infinite  Good  arises  unspeak- 

•Apoc.  20,   11-13. 

""Heaven  and  Earth  shall  pass  away,"  i.e.  the  natural  sky,  stars, 
etc.,   often  called  heaven. 

11  See  No.  51.     Note  11.  "Apoc.  22,  5. 

"  Mt.  25,  46.  "  I.  Cor.  13,  12. 


284  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 

able  delight.  ''Enter  into  the  joy. of  the  Lord  "" 
In  addition  to  the  contemplation  of  God  and  the 
love  and  joy  resulting  from  it,  the  blessed  enjoy  ac- 
cessory goods  which  add  to  their  happiness.  The  so- 
ciety of  the  angels  and  saints  is  such  a  source  of 
happiness;  as  will  be  also,  after  the  resurrection, 
the  delight  and  glory  of  the  body  and  its  senses.  St. 
Paul  has  written  of  heaven  with  admirable  dignity 
and  truth:  *'Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  what 
things  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him."  " 

Hell.  As  human  pen  cannot  describe  the  bliss  of 
heaven,  neither  can  it  picture  the  misery  of  hell. 
The  soul  that  death  finds  separated  from  God  by 
mortal  sin,  remains  cut  off  from  Him  for  all  eternity. 
Having  destroyed  its  own  supernatural  life,  the  soul 
goes  down  to  the  grave  of  hell.  On  the  guilt  of  mor- 
tal sin  the  judgment  passes  the  sentence  of  eternal 
punishment.  *' Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into 
everlasting  fire.'^^^  Here  is  expressed  the  twofold 
pain  of  hell :  the  pain  of  loss  and  the  pain  of  sense. 
The  pain  of  loss  of  God  is  by  far  the  most  terrible 
punishment  of  hell.  ** Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed!'  • 
This  punishment  corresponds  to  the  malice  of  sin  in 
turning  away  from  God,  our  last  end.  The  second- 
ary punishment  is  the  pain  of  sense  inflicted  espe- 
cially through  hell-fire  and  the  company  of  the 
damned.  It  corresponds  to  the  malice  of  sin  in  turn- 
ing to,  and  serving  creatures  instead  of  God.  **  De- 
part into  everlasting  fire.'' 

Eternal.  That  the  punishment  of  hell  is  eternal, 
is  the  testimony  of  the  various  sources  of  revelation. 
Holy  Scripture  is  explicit  on  the  point.  *' Depart 
from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire.  .  .  .  And 

»Mt.  25,  21.  "I.  Cor.  2,  9.  "Mt.   25,    41-46. 


THE  LAST  TfflNGS  285 

those  shall  go  into  everlasting  fire,  but  the  just  into 
everlasting  life/*^®  As  the  reward  of  the  just  is 
without  end,  so  the  punishment  of  the  damned, 
which  is  contrasted  with  it,  is  also  without  end. 
Jesus  Christ  himself  tells  us  that  the  fire  of  hell  is 
not  extinguished  and  the  worm  of  conscience  dieth 
not/®  The  Church  in  her  condemnation  of  the  uni- 
versalist  doctrine  of  Origen,  and  in  the  definitions 
of  the  Fourth  Lateran  Council,  declared  her  belief 
in  the  everlasting  punishment  of  hell. 

Eternal  punishment  corresponds  to  the  malice  of 
sin,  which  as  an  offense  against  the  infinite  good,  in- 
volves'a  quasi  infinite  malice.  In  it  mortal  sin, 
which  is  a  voluntary  separation  from  God,  is 
punished  by  its  own  choice.  The  loss  of  God  is  the 
essence  of  hell.  The  greatness  of  the  sanction  is  in 
proportion  to  the  greatness  of  the  prize  at  stake. 
Many  doubtless,  who  are  now  enjoying  eternal  bliss, 
would  have  failed  to  attain  their  end  if  anything 
less  than  eternal  loss  had  been  made  the  penalty 
of  that  final  failure. 

The  thought  of  an  eternal  hell  is  an  appalling  one. 
Little  wonder  that  it  is  the  subject  of  controversy 
and  denial.  But  however  repugnant  to  human  feel- 
ings, the  doctrine  of  hell  is  vouched  for  by  the  com- 
mon consent  of  men  as -well  as  by  the  teachings  of 
revelation.  It  is  found  in  the  religions  of  all  na- 
tions, ancient  and  modern,  civilized  and  barbarian. 
For  Christians,  the  measure  of  its  awfulness  is  the 
sacrifice  made  by  Jesus  Christ  to  save  men  from  its 
abyss.  Hell  is  something  less  idly  to  discuss  than 
resolutely  to  avoid.  Man  goes  to  hell  not  by  God's 
will,  but  by  his  own  willful  rejection  of  God.  In  his 
damnation  man  frustrates  the  will  of  God,  who 
created  us  for  everlasting  happiness,   even  as  the 

i«Mt.   25,   41-46.  "Mk.    9,    46;    Luke   3,    17. 


286  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 

sin  which  leads  to  damnation  was  man's  dejfiance  of 
the  Almighty's  law. 

The  denial  of  -hell  is  oftenest  based  on  sentiment 
addressed  to  human  feeling.  The  pictures  of  phys- 
ical torture  born  in  the  poetic  fancy  of  Dante  or 
Dore,  are  emphasized.  The  true  measure  of  hell  is 
not  man's  capacity  for  suffering  but  the  infinite 
worth  of  what  he  has  lost.  This  nobler  truth  that 
the  essence  of  hell  is  the  loss  of  God,  is  lost  sight 
of.  This  supremely  great  suffering  of  loss  is  not 
realized,  because  the  infinite  good — the  same  God,  is 
not  appreciated. 

Justice.  It  is  of  course  impossible  for  man  fully 
to  understand  God's  relation  to  the  condition  of  the 
lost.  A  ray  of  reflected  light  may  reach  us  from 
an  analogy  between  nature  and  its  Creator.  Na- 
ture nourishes  man  bountifully.  It  makes  his  life 
a  joy  and  a  priceless  boon,  while  his  life  is  lived 
according  to  its  laws.  It  even  forgives  and  heals 
the  wounds  of  those  who  have  transgressed  its  laws, 
so  long  as  the  transgressor  retains  the  vital  strength 
to  assimilate  its  balm.  So  men  say  that  nature  is 
good  and  bountiful.  But  the  same  nature  is  in- 
exorable in  her  laws  and  smites  even  with  death 
those  who  over-step  the  bounds.  Man  falls  into  the 
fire  or  water,  from  the  railroad  train  or  the  aero- 
plane; he  takes  poison;  he  refuses  food;  he  ex- 
hausts his  strength; — and  he  dies.  Shall  we  say 
that  the  same  nature  which  we  called  bountiful 
when  man  observed  the  laws  that  were  for  his 
welfare,  is  now  cruel  when  man  ruins  himself  by 
running  counter  to  the  laws  of  his  own  being  ?  The 
passions  which  we  ascribe  to  nature  are  the  reflec- 
tion of  our  own  feelings.  Nature  is  ever  the  same. 
It  is  just.  And  God  is  just.  Jesus  Christ  wept 
with  sorrow  over  the  Jerusalem  that  He  loved,  even 


THE  LAST  THINGS  287 

tvhile  he  announced  the  doom  the  citj^had  brought 
upon  itself  as  the  inevitable  harvest  of  its  sowing. 

Fire.  As  to  the  nature  of  the  fire  of  Hell,  spoken 
of  by  the  Scripture,  the  Church  has  defined  noth- 
ing. If  fire  is  used  as  an  instrument  by  God  for  the 
punishment  of  the  wicked,  it  could  presumably, 
afiSict  the  spirit  directly  without  the  medium  of  the 
body.  It  is  a  question  whether  it  is  not  the  soul 
rather  than  the  bones,  or  muscles  or  nerves,  which 
suffers  pain  from  fire  and  other  things,  in  our  pres- 
ent life.  However,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  seems  to 
describe  the  fire  as  confining  and  imprisoning  rather 
than  burning  the  lost  souls.  The  Jesuit  Hunter,  in 
his  Outlines  of  Dogmatic  Theology,  contrasting  the 
fires  of  Earth  and  Hell,  says:  *'The  one  comes  from 
God  as  Avenger  of  His  law;  the  other  from  the 
same  God  as  Author  of  Nature.  The  one  is  kindled 
by  the  breath  of  God;  the  other  consists  in  certain 
chemical  operations.''  St.  Augustine  avows  his 
ignorance  of  the  nature  of  the  fire  of  Hell. 

We  know  that  the  soul  can  suffer.  Even  in  this 
world  there  are  sufferings  w^orse  than  the.  pain 
that  racks  the  bodily  senses.  Greater  is  the  torture 
of  the  mind ;  the  anguish  of  the  spirit ;  remorse  that 
bites  like  a  serpent;  fear  that  murders  sleep;  the 
sense  of  loss  in  the  failure  of  life's  great  ambition, 
in  friendship  betrayed,  in  marital  infidelity  that 
drives  to  murder,  in  disgrace  that  invites  suicide,  in 
despair  that  strikes  man  impotent.  Even  the  forced 
company  of  two  fellow  spirits  whom  guilty  love 
drew  down  to  hell — their  love  now  turned  to  deadly 
hate,  their  curses  of  mutual  recrimination  in  which 
each  accuses  the  other  of  the  scandal  that  meant 
the  ruin  of  ft  soul's  inheritance,  the  murder  of  su- 
pernal life-^is  this  not  very  hell !  The  inward 
never-ceasing  anguish  and  remorse  of  the  lost  are 


288  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 

described  ad^  worm  that  never  dies.  This  torment 
is  increased  by  the  clear  consciousness  that  they 
themselves  are  the  cause  of  their  damnation  and 
by  the  thought  of  the  brief  enjoyment  for  which 
they  bartered  their  eternal  happiness. 

Loss  of  God.  ''The  wages  of  sin  is  death."  The 
death  of  the  soul  is  not  annihilation  but  separation 
from  God.  The  corruption  of  the  body  separated 
from  its  principle  of  life,  is  not  as  terrible  as  the  ruin 
of  the  soul  separated  from  God.  God  is  eternal  life. 
Separation  from  God, — the  infinite  truth  and  good 
and  beauty,  the  eternal  life  and  happiness, — ^is  hell. 
Hell  is  everlasting  death.  Sin  is  spiritual  suicide. 
If  the  punishment  is  appalling,  it  is  because  the 
prize  is  supreme.  The  misery  is  proportionate  to 
the  good  that  is  lost.  The  fall  from  the  heights 
of  heaven  can  be  measured  only  by  the  depths  of 
hell.  Christ  truly  says  that  it  were  better  for  a 
man  to  cut  off  his  hand  or  foot  and  pluck  out  his 
eye,  if  these  be  the  occasion  of  sin,  and  to  go  lame 
and  blind  into  the  Kingdom  of  God,  than  to  be 
cast  into  the  hell  of  unquenchable  fire,  where  their 
worm  dieth  not  and  the  fire  is  not  extinguished. 

64.  PURGATORY  AND  PRAYER  FOR  THE 
DEAD. 

Christian  revelation  teaches  us  that  besides  heaven 
into  which  no  imperfection  can  enter,  and  hell  from 
which  there  is  no  redemption,  there  is  a  state  in 
which  the  souls  of  the  just  who  in  this  life  were 
not  perfectly  cleansed,  shall  undergo  purifying  suf- 
fering before  being  admitted  into  heaven.  This 
state  of  purgation  is  properly  call^  purgatory. 
The  defined  teaching  of  the  Church  is  expressed  in 
the  words  of  the  Council  of  Trent:     ''That  there  is 


PUllGATORY      •  289 

a  purgatory  and  that  the  souls  detained  there  are 
benefited  by^he  prayers  of  the  faithful  and  especially 
by  the  acceptable  sacrifice  of  the  altar/' 

The  doctrine  of  purgatory  follows  as  a  postulate 
of  reason  from  other  teachings  which  Christians 
liold  as  undoubtedly  true.  Thus  it  is  true  that 
nothing  imperfect  shall  enter  heaven.^  It  is  also 
true  that  with  the  pardon  of  sin,  is  remitted  its 
eternal  punishment,  but  not  always  its  temporal  pun- 
ishment.- Now  doubtless  many  people  die  guilty  of 
venial  sin  and  therefore  not  perfect  but  liable  to 
penalty;  and  many  die  w^ithout  fully  satisfying  for 
the  temporal  punishment  due  to  forgiven  sins. 
What  becomes  of  these  souls?  We  must  say  either 
that  they  are  damned,  w^hich  would  be  impious  since 
they  are  in  the  state  of  sanctifying  grace ;  ^  or  that 
they  are  in  heaven  with  their  shortcoming,  which  is 
impossible ;  or  that  death  itself  cleanses  and  absolves 
them,  which  is  an  unwarranted  assumption;  or 
finally,  that  there  is  a  state  of  purgation  for  a  time 
after  death,  where  these  souls  **pay  the  last  farth- 
ing" of  their  debt  and  are  cleansed.  Purgatory  is 
the  only  reasonable  solution  of  the  problem. 

Vestibule  of  Heaven.  Purgatory  is  not  a  second 
probation.  Our  spiritual  condition  at  the  moment 
of  death  decides  whether  our  eternity  shall  be 
heaven  or  hell.  *'If  the  tree  fall  to  the  south  or  to 
the  north,  in  whatsoever  place  it  shall  fall,  there 
shall  it  lie.''  The  test  of  the  judgment  is  whether 
we  are  found  clothed  with  the  wedding  garment  of 
sanctifying  grace — whether  we  have  saved  our  souls. 
Venial  fault  and  temporal  punishment  due  to  sin, 
are  not  incompatible  with  sanctifying  grace.  The 
wedding  garment  may  have  a  little  of  the  dust  of 
the  world  upon  it.     The  souls  who  go  to  purgatory 

»Apoc.  21.   27. 

*Cf.  No.   56    (Indulgences). 

»Cf.   No.    52    (venial  sin). 


290  THE  CHRISTIANAS  ETERNITY 

are  saved.  They  are  certain  of  heaven,  and  shall 
reach  it  as  soon  as  they  are  prepared  lor  it*  Pur- 
gatory has  been  called  the  vestibule  of  heaven.  The 
power  to  merit  has  passed  with  the  time  of  pro- 
bation. In  purgatory  the  souls  can  themselves  wipe 
out  their  debt  only  by  suffering.  Yet  purgatory 
speaks  of  forgiveness  as  well  as  penalty : — of  penalty 
on  the  part  of  those  who  suffer  there;  of  forgive- 
ness on  the  part  of  God  who  is  moved  by  the  prayers 
and  good  works  of  the  living  to  remit  that  penalty 
either  wholly  or  in  part. 

Shakespeare  puts  an  expression  of  purgatory  into 
the  mouth  of  Hamlet 's  father. 


"1  am  thy  father's  spirit; 
Doomed  for  a  certain  term  to  walk  the  night, 
And  for  the  day,  confined  to  waste  in  fires 
Till  the  foul  crimes  done  in  my  days  of  nature 
Are  burnt  and  purged  away." 


In  Old  Testament.  The  chosen  people  of  God  in 
the  Old  Law  believed  in  purgatory,  and  in  the 
temple  of  God  at  Jerusalem  offered  sacrifice  for 
the  dead  as  well  as  for  the  living.  We  read  in  the 
second  Book  of  the  Machabees  that  the  Jewish  sol- 
diers prayed  for  their  fallen  comrades  who,  they 
trusted,  had  fallen  asleep  with  godliness,  in  spite 
of  their  sin  of  disobedience ;  and  that  the  valiant 
leader  Judas  had  sacrifice  offered  for  the  repose  of 
the  souls  of  the  dead  soldiers.  ''And  making  a 
gathering,  he  sent  twelve  thousand  drachms  of  silver 
to  Jerusalem  for  sacrifice  to  be  offered  for  the  sins 
of  the  dead,  thinking  well  and  religiously  concern- 
ing the  resurrection.  For  if  he  had  not  hoped  that 
they  that  were  slain  should  rise  again,  it  would  have 
seemed  superfluous  and  vain  to  pray  for  the  dead. 
...  It  is,  therefore,  a  holy  and  wholesome  thought 


PURGATORY  291 

to  pray  for  the  dead,  that  they  may  be  loosed  from 
sins."* 

Protestants  for  the  most  part,  deny  the  Books  of 
the  Machabees  a  place  among  the  canoniqal  scrip- 
tures. The  repudiation  of  these  inspired  writings 
by  the  reformers  is  thus  characterized  by  Charles 
Augustus  Briggs,  the  most  eminent  Protestant 
biblical  scholar  of  America:  ** There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  rejection  of  II  Machabees,  was  due 
in  great  measure  to  its  support  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic doctrine  of  sacrifices  for  the  dead."''  Waiving 
the  question  of  their  canonicity,  all  agree  that  the 
Books  are  good  Jewish  history.  As  historical  docur 
ments  they  testify  to  the  Jews'  belief  in  the  middle 
place  and  to  their  practice  of  praying  for  the  dead. 
Indeed  the  Jews  have  retained  this  custom  to  the 
present  day.*  The  Jews  at  the  time  of  Christ  be- 
lieved in  the  place  of  purgation.  Christ  far  from 
correcting  this  belief,  as  He  would  have  done  were 
it  false,  assumes  and  endoi*ses  it  in  His  teachings. 

The  Last  Farthing.  In  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
Jesus  warns  His  hearers  to  be  at  peace  with  their 
adversaries,  lest  they  be  suddenly  delivered  to  their 
Judge,  and  by  him  cast  into  the  Prison.  And  Jesus 
adds:  '*I  say  to  thee,  thou  shalt  not  come  out 
thence,  till  thou  hast  paid  the  last  farthing."^ 
Hence  Christ  speaks  of  a  prison  in  the  other  world 
in  which  souls  shall  be  detained  until  the  last  farth- 
ing due  to  divine  justice  is  paid.  Heaven  is  no 
prison :  and  from  hell  there  is  no  release.  The  Jews 
would  readily  understand  Christ  to  refer  to  the 
temporary  place  of  purgation  which  their  faith 
taught  to  be  a  feature  of  God's  providence. 

*II.  Mach.  12,  43-46. 

"»  Study  of  Holy  Script.  Ch.   6,  p.  145. 

•  Jewish  Prayer  Book.     Phil. 

»Mt.  5,   25-26. 


292  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 

Again  Jesus  tells  the  Jews  that  the  ''sin  against 
the  Holy  Ghost  shall  be  forgiven  neither  in  this  world 
nor  in  the  world  to  come. ' '  ®  We  may  infer  from 
these  words  that  there  are  some  sins  that  will  be  for- 
given in  .the  world  to  come  as  also  in  this  world,  but 
not  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost.  Sin  will  not  be 
forgiven  in  heaven,  as  nothing  defiled  can  enter  it: 
nor  in  hell  where  the  fire  is  not  extinguished.  There 
must  be  a  third  state  where  purgation  takes  place. 
St.  Augustine,  St.  Gregory  the  Great,  St.  Isidore  and 
other  Fathers  see  this  implication  in  Christ's  words. 
It  were  a  brave  man  who  would  question  the  logical 
acumen  of  these  intellectual  giants.  Their  commen- 
tary has  the  value  also  of  reflecting  the  Christian 
faith  of  the  early  centuries. 

Faith  of  Early  Christians.  Many  of  the  Christian 
writers  of  the  first  centuries,  including  Origen,  SS. 
Ambrose,  Jerome,  Augustine,  Hilary,  Gregory,  see  a 
simile  of  purgatory,  if  not  a  reference  to  it,  in  the 
words  of  St.  Paul:  ''For  other  foundation  no  man 
can  lay,  but  that  which  is  laid,  which  is  Christ  Jesus. 
Now  if  any  man  build  upon  this  foundation  gold, 
silver,  precious  stones,  wood,  hay,  stubble;  every 
man's  work' shall  be  manifest.  For  the  day  of  the 
Lord  shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall  be  revealed  in 
fire.  And  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's  work,  of 
what  sort  it  is.  If  any  man's  work  abide,  which  he 
hath  built  thereupon,  he  shall  receive  a  reward.  If 
any  man's  work  burn,  he  shall  suffer  loss;  but  he 
himself  shall  be  saved  yet  so  as  by  fire."® 

The  Fathers  in  noting  what  they  considered  al- 
lusions to  purgatory  in  the  texts  of  Scripture,  bear 
witness  to  the  Church 's  belief  in  the  doctrine.  Like 
the  Fathers  of  the  first  centuries  of  Christianity,  -^e 
believe  in  purgatory  and  the  charity  of  prayer  for 
the  dead,  because  these  doctrines  are  taught  by  the 

8Mt.   12,    32.  *•!.  Cor.  3,  11-15. 


PURGATORY  "^  293 

Cliiirch  which  Jesus  Christ  has  left  in  the  world  as 
the  teacher  of  His  religion,  and  which  He  has  en- 
dowed with  the  infallibility  which  assures  us  that  its 
teachings  are  the  truth. 

Prayer  for  the  Dead.  As  those  in  purgation  are 
suffering  and  are  subjects  for  God's  mercy  and 
grace,  the  practice  of  praying  for  the  dead  follows 
naturally  from  the  doctrine  of  purgatory.  As  sacri- 
fice and  prayer  were  offered  for  the  dead  in  the 
temple  of  God  in  the  Old  Law,  so  in  the  New  Law 
the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  offered  daily  for  the  dead 
as  well  as  the  living;  and  in  every  Catholic  house- 
hold the  dear  ones  who  have  gone  into  eternity  are 
remembered  in  the  prayers  of  their  brethren.  The 
Oriental  sects  that  fell  away  from  the  unity  of  the 
Church  in  the  early  ages,  have  ever  retained  this 
Catholic  practice,  to  whose  antiquity  they  thus 
testify.  The  Fathers  of  every  age  and  country 
speak  of  the  Christian  custom  of  praying  for  the 
dead. 

Tertullian  of  Africa,  in  the  second  century,  says 
that  "the  faithful  wife  will  pray  for  the  soul  of  her 
deceased  husband,  particularly  on  the  anniversary 
day  of  his  falling  asleep  (death).  And  if  she  fail 
to  do  so,  she  hath  repudiated  her  husband  as  far 
as  in  her  lies." 

St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  in  the  fourth  century, 
writes:  "We  commemorate  the  Holy  Fathers  and 
Bishops  and  all  who  have  fallen  asleep  from  amongst 
us,  believing  that  the  supplications  which  we  pre- 
sent w^ill  be  of  great  assistance  to  their  souls,  while 
the  holy  and  tremendous  sacrifice  is  offered  up." 

St.  Ephra?m,  the  Syrian,  who  died  in  379  says :  *'I 
conjure  you,  my  brethren  and  friends,  in  the  name 
of  that  God  Avho  commands  me  to^eave  you,  to  re- 
member me  when  you  assemble  to  pray.  Do  not 
bury  me  with  perfumes.     Give  them  not  to  me,  but 


294         ^HE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 

to  God.  Me,  conceived  in  sorrows,  bury  with  lamen- 
tations; and  instead  of  perfumes,  assist  me  with 
your  prayers;  for  the  dead  are  benefited  by  the 
prayers  of  living  saints.'' 

The  Greek  doctor,  St.  Chrysostom  who  died  in 
407,  writes:  ''It  was  not  without  good  reason  or- 
dained by  the  Apostles,  that  mention  should  be 
made  of  the  dead  in  the  tremendous  mysteries,  the 
Mass,  because  they  knew^well  that  they  would  re- 
ceive great  benefit  from  it." 

The  Latin  Fathers  bear  the  same  witness.  St. 
Ambrose,  who  died  in  397,  on  the  death  of  the  Em- 
perors Gratian  and  Valentinian,  says:  "Blessed 
shall  both  of  you  be,  if  my  prayers  can  avail  any- 
thing. No  day  shall  pass  you  over  in  silence.  No 
prayer  of  mine  shall  omit  to  honor  you.  No  night 
shall  hurry  by  without  bestowing  on  you  a  mention 
in  my  prayers.  In  every  one  of  the  oblations,  will 
I  remember  you." 

St.  Jerome  who  died  in  420,  in  a  letter  of  con- 
dolence to  Pammachius,  on  the  death  of  his  wife 
Paulina,  writes:  "Other  husbands  strew  violets 
and  roses  on  the  graves  of  their  wives.  Our  Pam- 
machius bedews  the  hallowed  dust  of  Paulina  with 
balsams  of  alms." 

St.  Augustine  who  died  in  430,  relates  that  when 
his  mother  w^as  at  the  point  of  death,  she  made  this 
last  request  of  him :  ' '  Lay  this  body  anywhere ;  let 
not  the  care  of  it  in  any  way  disturb  you.  This 
only  I  request  of  you,  that  you  would  remember  me 
at  the  altar  of  the  Lord,  wherever  you  be."  And 
that  pious  son  prays  for  his  mother's  soul  in  the 
most  impassioned  language:  "I  therefore,  0  God 
of  my  heart,  do  now  beseech  Thee  for  the  sins  of  my 
mother.  Hear  ^me  through  the  medicine  of  the 
wounds  that  hung  upon  the  wood.  .  .  .  May  she, 
then,  be  in  peace  with  her  husband.  .  .  .  And  in- 


PURGATORY  295 

spire,  my  Lord,  .  .  .  Thy  servants,  my  brethren, 
whom  with  voice  and  heart  and  pen  I  serve,  that  as 
many  as  shall  read  these  words  may  remember  at 
Thy  altar,  Monica,  Thy  servant.  ..." 

Voice  of  Nature.  The  petition  to  her  son,  by  the 
valiant  Christian  mother  of  the  fourth  century,  is 
the  same  as  the  poet  Tennyson  put  into  the  mouth 
of  the  dying  King  Arthur.     It  is  the  voice  of  nature. 


*I  have  lived  my  life,  and  that  which  Iliave  done 
May  He  within  Himself  make  pure;  but  thou. 
If  thou  shouldst  never  see  my  face  again, 
Pray  for  my  soul.     More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer 
Than  this  world  dreams  of.     Wherefore,  let  thy  voice 
Rise  like  a  fountain  for  me  night  and  day. 
For  what  are  men  better  than  sheep  or  ^oats 
That  nourisli  a  blind  life  within  the  brain, 
If,  knowing  God,  they  lift  not  hands  of  praj'er 
Both  for  themselves  and  those  who  call  them  friend? 
For  so  the  whole  round  earth  is  every  way 
Bound  by  gold  chains  about  the  feet  of  God." 


A  Grand  Faith.  The  doctrine  of  purgatory  com- 
mends itself  to  the  Christian  reason  and  the  human 
heart.  It  gives  consolation  to  the  mourner  and  en- 
couragement to  the  repentant  sinner.  It  affords  oc- 
casion of  exercising  charity  to  the  departed,  of  re- 
pairing the  ingratitude  of  thoughtless  days,  of 
strengthening  the  bond  of  love  that  even  death  can- 
not break.  It  recalls  the  thought  of  death  and  turns 
the  mind  from  the  baubles  of  the  world.  It  deters 
the  soul  from  venial  sin,  which  without  purgatory 
would  lack  a  proper  sanction.  It  manifests  most 
splendidly  the  infinite  justice,  majesty,  and  sanctity 
of  God,  who  abhors  even  the  shadow  of  sin :  and  it 
reveals  the  greatness  of  the  glory  of  the  heavenly 
court  which  demands  such  purity,  and  the  nobility  of 
the  soul  which  is  capable  of  such  perfection. 


296  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 


65.    THE  CHURCH  TRIUMPHANT. 

The  Church  militant  on  earth,  the  Church  suffer- 
ing in  purgatory,  the  Church  triumphant  in  heaven, 
this  splendid  conception  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
realizes  in  a  surpassing  sense  the  brotherhood  of  man 
in  the  Fatherhood  of  God.  Bound  together  in  sym- 
pathy and  love  and  the  charity  of  prayer,  the  three 
portions  of  the  Kipgdom  of  God  constitute  the  Com- 
munion of  Saints — the  Catholic  Church.  Having  ob- 
served the  Church  militant  and  the  Church  suffering, 
it  remains  for  us  to  contemplate  the  Church  trium- 
phant. 

The  Saints.  The  Saints  (the  title  is  commonly  re- 
stricted to  the  members  of  the  Church  triumphant) 
are  those  children  of  the  human  race  who  have 
reached  heaven.  We  all  of  us  are  destined  to  be 
saints.  "We  shall  be  Saints  or  we  shall  be  lost. 
There  is  a  countless  multitude  of  Saints  of  all  na- 
tions and  tribes  and  tongues,  whose  sanctity  and 
heavenly  reward  are  known  to  God  but  not  to  earth. 
There  are  other  men  and  women  whose  heroic  virtue 
has  attracted  the  notice  of  the  Church,  and  w^ho, 
after  the  most  exacting  scrutiny  of  their  lives,  have 
been  enrolled  on  the  canon  or  list  of  God's  heroes 
and  held  up  to  the  world  as  models  of  the  Christian 
life.  These  are  the  canonized  Saints.  Every  de- 
partment of  life  has  its  heroes:  men  who  have 
reached  the  mountain  heights  of  success  in  their  par- 
ticular work.  They  become  an  example  and  inspira- 
tion to  their  fellow  toilers.  Literature,  science,  art, 
statesmanship  have  their  glorious  names  and  tower- 
ing forms.  So  has  religion.  The  Saints  who  reign 
with  God  in  heaven,  have  attained  life's  one  su- 
preme purpose.  However  lowly  or  great  may  have 
been  their  station  in  life,  they  have  made  a  splendid 


THE  CHURCH  TRIUMPHANT  297 

success  of  life  itself.    The  Saints  are  the  heroes  of 
life. 

Beatitudes.  The  Saints  are  an  integral  part  of 
the  Church  of  Christ.  They  are  the  fruits  of  His 
Redemption.  Without  Silints  the  Church  would  be 
a  failure :  a  year  of  sowing  and  toil,  without  a  har- 
vest. The  Church  celebrates  the  memory  of  a  Saint 
on  the  anniversary  of  his  death — his  birthday  in 
Heaven.  On  the  first  of  November  she  commemo- 
rates the  multitudes  of  the  Blessed  whose  names  and 
deeds  are  known  to  God  alone.  In  the  Gospel  of 
that  day  she  reads  the  Beatitudes,  suggesting  the 
ways  which  the  Saints  have  trod. 

**  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  is  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,  for  they  shall  be  com- 
forted. 

Blessed  are  the  meek,  for  they  shall  possess  the  land. 

Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  right- 
eousnsss,  for  they  shall  be  filled. 

Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy. 

Blessed  are  the  pure  of  heart,  for  they  shall  see 
God. 

Blessed  are  the  peace-makers,  for  they  shall  be 
called  the  Children  of  God. 

Blessed  are  they  that  suffer  persecution  for  right- 
eousness' sake,  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven. '^ 

Divine  Love.  The  most  unsympathetic  come  to 
love  a  Saint  when  they  really  learn  his  history. 
At  the  tomb  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo  in  the  Milan 
Cathedral,  Mark  Twain  was  inspired  to  write  these 
lines : 

''Now  we  shall  descend  into  the  crypt,  under  the 
grand  altar  of  Milan  Cathedral,  and  receive  an  im- 


298  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 

pressive  sermon  from  lips  that  have  been  silent  and 
hands  that  have  been  gestureless  for  these  three  hun- 
dred years. 

*'This  is  the  last  resting  place  of  a  good  man,  a 
warm-hearted  unselfish  man ;  a  man  whose  whole  life 
was  given  to  succoring  the  poor,  encouraging  the 
faint-hearted,  visiting  the  sick;  in  relieving  distress, 
whenever  and  wherever  he  found  it.  His  heart,  his 
hand  and  his  purse  were  always  open.  With  his 
story  in  one 's  mind,  we  can  almost  see  his  benignant 
countenance  moving  calmly  among  the  haggard  faces 
of  Milan  in  the  days  when  the  plague  swept  the  city ; 
— brave  when  all  others  were  cowards,  full  of  com- 
passion where  pity  had  been  crushed  out  of  all  other 
breasts  by  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  gone  mad 
with  terror,  cheering  all,  praying  with  all,  helping 
all  with  hand  and  brain  and  purse,  at  a  time  when 
parents  forsook  their  children,  the  friend  deserted 
the  friend,  and  the  brother  turned  away  from  the 
sister  while  her  pleadings  were  still  wailing  in  his 
ears.  This  was  good  Saint  Charles  Borromeo,  bishop 
of  Milan.'' 

The  divine  love  that  showed  itself  in  the  charity 
of  St.  Charles  is  the  secret  of  the  life  of  every  Saint. 
However  different  may  be  the  works  of  the  Saints, 
it  is  always  the  same  supernatural  love  of  God  that 
inspires  and  sanctifies  them :  be  they  expressed  in  the 
poverty  of  a  Francis  of  Assisi,  the  innocence  of  an 
Aloysius,  the  zeal  of  a  Patrick,  the  labors  of  a  Bene- 
dict, the  charity  of  an  Elizabeth,  the  mystic  con- 
templation of  a  Theresa,  the  fortitude  of  an  Agnes, 
the  eloquence  of  a  Bernard,  the  silence  of  a  John 
Nepomucene,  the  learning  of  a  Thomas  Aquinas,  the 
penitence  of  a  Magdalene,  the  tenderness  of  a  John, 
the  energy  of  a  Paul,  the  generosity  of  a  Peter. 

Honor  Due  the  Saints.  Justice  and  wisdom  alike 
teach  us  to  give  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due.    To 


THE  CHURCH  TRIUMPHANT  299 

honor  merit  is  noble.  Reverence  is  neither  supersti- 
tion nor  servility  but  appreciation  of  worth.  As  we 
celebrate  the  memory  of  the  nation's  heroes  of  sword 
and  pen,  we  do  not  forget  the  glory  of  the  heroes  of 
the  Cross.  We  honor  the  Saints,  as  we  do  other  rare 
men,  by  adorning  their  tomb,  by  preserving  and  re- 
specting their  relics,  by  erecting  their  statues,  by 
recounting  their  deeds  in  song  and  story.  But  we 
honor  the  Saints  most  by  striving  to  imitate  their 
virtues. 

In  the  lives  of  the  Saints  we  discover  w^hat  God's 
grace  can  do  for  our  common  humanity.  Because 
they  have  given  themselves  over  to  God's  will  and 
cooperated  with  His  grace,  they  become  models  for 
us  to  copy.  In  them  we  see  the  love  and  power  of 
God.  In  them  as  in  mirrors,  we  behold  the  image 
of  God's  holiness.  Good  as  well  as  evil  is  taught 
more  by  example  than  by  precept.  The  life  of  an 
angelic  mother  becomes  a  man's  argument  for  the 
reality  and  worth  of  religion.  We  see  the  beauty 
of  the  sun  not  alone  by  turning  our  eyes  upon  its 
blazing  orb,  whose  splendor  would  blind  us,  but  by 
beholding  the  landscape  which  the  sun's  light  and 
warmth  have  adorned  with  rich  vegetation  and 
lovely  flowers  and  joyous  life.  The  beauty  of  God 
is  revealed  to  us  in  good  men  and  women,  when  our 
eyes  might  not  recognize  Him  apart  from  these  re- 
flections of  His  glory.  The  glory  of  the  Saints  is  the 
reflected  glory  of  God.  When  we  honor  the  Saints, 
we  through  them  give  honor  to  God. 

Relics.  To  hold  in  veneration  the  relics  of  great 
men  is  a  mark  of  respect  as  ancient  as  it  is  universal. 
England  has  made  a.  Shakespeare  museum  of  the 
bard's  home.  The  United  States  spent  a  fortune 
seeking  in  the  old  cemeteries  of  Paris  and  burying 
beneath  a  splendid  monument  at  Annapolis,  a  body 
which   may   or  may   not   be   that   of   Paul   Jones. 


300  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 

Christians  treasure  the  relics  of  the  Saints.  Need- 
less to  say  we  do  not  worship  them,  any  more  than 
we  pay  divine  honor  to  the  Saints  themselves.  These 
relics  are  generally  preserved  in  a  church  because 
they  belonged  to  the  heroes  of  religion.  Bhould  it 
happen  that  some  supposed  relic  is  not  authentic, 
that  cannot  detract  from  the  life  it  recalls.  Many 
miracles  are  attributed  to  the  application  of  sacred 
relics  to  the  bodies  of  the  sick.  We  read  in  scrip- 
ture that  the  shadow  of  St.  Peter  cured  the  sick ;  ^ 
as  did  the  use  of  the  cloths  which  had  touched  the 
body  of  St.  Paul.2 

Prayers  of  the  Saints.  As  our  brethren  m  the 
adopted  family  of  God  and  our  fellow-members  of 
the  mystic  body  of  Christ,*  the  Saints  love  and  pray 
for  the  souls  in  the  church  militant  on  earth  and 
suffering  in  purgatory.  And  we,  communing  with 
those  great  spirits,  ask  their  prayers.  The  charity 
of  prayer  is  one  of  the  first  duties  of  the  Christian 
religion.  The  Holy  Spirit  inspired  the  precept: 
*'Pray  for  one  another  that  you  may  be  saved,  for 
the  prayer  of  a  just  man  availeth  much.''*  "What 
men  are  more  just  than  the  Saints?  Whose  charity 
is  greater?  Whose  prayer  more  fervent?  While 
busy  on  earth,  St.  Paul  prayed  without  ceasing  for 
the  members  of  the  church.^  In  heaven  where 
charity  never  faileth,  doubtless  Paul's  prayers  for 
us  are  even  more  ample  and  efficacious.  St.  John 
speaks  of  the  prayers  of  the  Saints  as  a  sweet  odor 
about  the  throne  of  God.^ 

The  prayers  of  the  Saints  do  not  detract  from  the 
mediatorship  of  Christ,  any  more  than  do  our  prayers 
for  one  another.  Christ  saves  us  by  His  own  power. 
The  Saints  pray  to  God  that  His  grace  may  be 
abundantly  poured  out  on  us  unto  salvation.     Every 

lAct.  5,   15-16.  *Jas.  5,   16. 

»Act.  19,   12.  »I.  Tim.  2.  1-6;   II.  Tim.  2,  16-18. 

•Rom.  12,  5.  •Apoc.  5,  8;  8,  3-4. 


THE  CHURCH  TRIUMPHANT  301 

prayer  is  through  Christ.  In  the  very  same  breath 
in  which  St.  Paul  says  that  Christ  is  our  one  medi- 
ator of  redemption,  he  also  bids  us  to  pray  for  one 
another.  "I  desire  first  of  all  that  supplications, 
prayers,  intercessions  and  thanksgiving  be  made  for 
all  men.  .  .  .  For  this  is  good  and  acceptable  in  the 
sight  of  God  our  Savior  who  will  have  all  men  to 
be  saved  and  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
For  there  is  one  God  and  one  mediator  of  God  and 
man,  the  man  Jesus  Christ  who  gave  himself  a  re- 
demption for  all.''^ 

As  the  guardian  angel  of  the  child  sees  the  face 
of  God  in  Heaven,  and  the  angels  there  rejoice  over 
a  single  sinner  who  repents,®  so  the  saints  receive 
their  knowledge  and  hear  our  prayers,  through  God's 
knowledge  revealed  to  them  in  the  Beatific  Vision. 

The  Virgin-Mother  of  God.  A  unique  place 
among  the  Saints  is  that  of  Mary,  the  mother  of  our 
divine  Lord.  Mary's  greatness  arises  from  her  di- 
vine maternity.  The  Holy  One  born  of  her  is  the 
Son  of  the  Most  High.*^  Jesus  Christ  is  God  as  well 
as  man.  Mary  gave  Him  the  flesli,and  the  blood  in 
which  He  clothed  His  divinity.  The  Council  of 
Ephesus,  A.  D.  431,  called  Mary  the  Mother  of  God. 
This  was  not  a  new  title.  Elizabeth  had  addressed 
it  to  her  favored  cousin:  ** Whence  is  it  that  the 
Mother  of  my  Lord  comes  to  visit  me?"  ^^  The  title 
emphasizes  the  truth  that  the  person  born  of  Mary, 
is  God  as  well  as  man.  Men  honor  Mary  by  this 
glorious  title.  God  honored  her  by  choosing  her  for 
the  work  which  this  title  expresses.  The  tribute 
paid  to  Mary  is  but  the  natural  reflection  of  our 
faith  in  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  was  Mary's  privilege  to  possess  with  the  dig- 
nity of  the  divine  maternity,  the  glory  of  conse- 
crated   virginity.     She    is    the    Virgin-Mother.     St. 

U.  Tim.   2,   1-6.  "Luke   1.   35. 

8  Luke  15,   10;    18,   10.  "Luke  1,  43. 


302  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 

Joseph  was  the  protector  of  the  divine  child  and  of 
His  mother.  The  ''brethren  of  Christ"  mentioned 
in  the  Gospel,  are  not  His  brothers,  but  more  distant 
relatives,  as  careful  study  will  show.  The  perpetual 
virginity  of  Mary  has  been  from  the  beginning  the 
common  faith  of  Christians.  Luther,  Calvin,  Beza, 
Zwingli  and  other  Protestant  writers  teach  it. 
Mary's  words  to  the  Angel:  "How  can  this  be, 
since  I  know  not  man?"  reveal  her  resolution  to  re- 
main a  virgin.  ^^  The  fact  that  Mary  gave  up  her 
only  Son  in  Jesus  Christ,  is  eloquently  told  in  the 
words  uttered  by  Christ  on  the  Cross,  in  which  He 
commends  the  bereaved  Mother  to  the  care  of  the  be- 
loved St.  John.  12 

Immaculate  Conception.  Mary  was  united  with 
God  not  alone  by  the  ties  of  motherhood,  a  union  to 
which  no  other  creature  can  ever  aspire,  but  also  by 
a  unique  favor  of  grace.  As  a  fitting  preparation 
for  her  divine  maternity,  Mary  was  endowed  with 
sanctifying  grace  from  the  first  moinent  of  her  con- 
ception. She  who  was  destined  to  give  His  human 
nature  to  the  Soi*  of  the  all  pure  God,  was  for  His 
sake  and  by  His  power,  preserved  from  the  stain 
of  original  sin.  The  second  Eve  whom  God  put  at 
enmity  with  the  serpent,  and  who  in  her  seed,  was  to 
crush  its  head,  was  not  less  highly  favored  by  grace 
than  was  the  first  Eve.  The  Messenger  of  God  could 
truthfully  address  her:  "Hail,  full  of  grace;  the 
Lord  is  with  thee;  blessed  art  thou  among 
women.  "1^  In  defining  the  Immaculate  Conception 
of  the  Mother  of  God,  the  Church  placed  upon  the 
brow  of  Mary  a  final  crown,  linking  all  her  glories 
as  they  have  been  cherished  in  the  Christian  faith 
from  the  beginning. 

Mary  Our  Model.     Mary  cooperated  with  the  grace 
lavished  upon  her.     She  did  her  part  to  be  worthy 

"Luke  1,   34.  "  john  19,  27.  "Luke  1,  28. 


THE  CUUliCH  TRIUMPHANT  303 

of  her  sublime  vocation.  In  her  fidelity  to  God  she 
becomes  the  highest  model  for  those  who  would  be 
saints.  At  the  call  of  the  Angel's  voice  she  places 
herself  at  God's  disposal.  "Behold  the  handmaid 
of  the  Lord;  be  it  done  unto  me  according  to  thy 
word.''^*  Mary  lived  Christ's  life  with  Him  day 
by  day,  for  the  three  and  thirty  years  of  His  earthly 
sojourn.  In  humility  and  faith  she  shared  his  pov- 
erty and  suffering.  Content  to  trust  in  God's  ways, 
however  hard  for  human  mind  to  understand,  she 
was  satisfied  with  the  possession  of  God  alone.  From 
the  manger  crib  of  Bethlehem,  to  the  Cross  beneath 
which  she  stood,  ^^  even  though  the  sword  of  sorrow 
pierced  her  soul,  Mary  was  faithful.  The  faithful 
Mother  of  Heaven's  King  now  rejoices  with  her  di- 
vine Son  in  Heaven. 

The  children  of  the  Church  of  Christ  on  earth, 
have  ever  loved  Mary  as  a  sister  and  a  mother.  As 
she  was  united  with  Christ  on  earth  and  now  reigns 
with  Him  in  Heaven,  she  is  not  separated  from  Him 
in  our  memory  and  affection^  There  is  ever  a  place 
of  honor  for  the  mother,  in  the  home  of  the  Son. 
Treading  in  Mary's  footsteps  we  are  sure  to  follow 
Christ.  The  Assumption  of  Mary  into  Heaven  after 
her  death,  is  tRe  hope  and  promise  of  the  reward 
we  shall  receive,  if  in  our  measure  and  place,  we  are 
faithful  to  God  as  she  was.  In  a  tribute  to  Mary 
our  model,  the  type  of  the  pure  maiden,  the  faithful 
spouse,  the  loving  mother,  Ruskin  says :  **  There  has 
probably  not  been  an  innocent  cottage  home  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  Europe  during  the 
whole  period  of  vital  Christianity,  in  which  the 
imagined  presence  of  a  Madonna  has  not  given 
sanctity  to  the  humblest  duties,  and  comfort  to  the 
sorest  trials  of  the  lives  of  women :  and  every  bright- 
est and  loftiest  achievement  of  the  arts  and  strength 

"Luke  1,  38.  "John  19.  25. 


304  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 

of  manhood  has  been  the  fulfillment  of  the  assured 
prophecy  of  the  poor  Israelite  maiden:  'He  that  is 
mighty  hath  magnified  me,  and  Hol}^  is  His  name.'  " 

Magnificat.  In  the  Church  triumphant  in  Heaven, 
the  saints  rejoicing  with  their  Queen  before  the 
face  of  the  Eternal  God,  may  make  their  own  her 
canticle :  ^^ 

*'My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord. 

And  my  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Savior. 

Because  He  hath  regarded  the  humility  of  His 
handmaid:  for  behold  from  henceforth  all  genera- 
tions shall  call  me  blessed. 

Because  He  that  is  mighty  hath  done  great  things 
for  me:  and  holy  is  His  name. 

And  His  mercy  is  from  generation  unto  genera- 
tions: to  them  that  fear  Him. 

He  hath  showed  might  in  His  arm:  He  hath  scat- 
tered the  proud  in  the  conceit  of  their  heart. 

He  hath  put  dotvn  the  mighty  from  their  seat: 
and  hath  exalted  the  humble. 

He  hath  filled  the  hungry  with  good  things:  and 
the  rich  He  hath  sent  empty  away. 

He  hath  received  Israel,  His  servant:  being  mind- 
ful of  his  mercy. 

As  He  spoke  to  our  fathers:  to  Abraham  and  to 
his  seed  forever/' 


66.    RESUME   OF   PART  THREE— THE   CHRIS- 
TIAN  LIFE 

Our  chapters  have  shown  that  the  essential  char- 
acter of  the  Christian  life,  is  union  with  God.  Like 
the  Old  Law,  the  Christian  religion  has  its  sacred 
covenants  between  man  and  God.  They  promote  the 
union.    With  their  outward  sign  and  inward  grace, 

"Luke  1,  46-55. 


RESUME  OF  PART  THREE  305 

they  at  once  reach  down  to  the  lowliness  of  our  hu- 
man nature  and  upward  to  the  divine  life  of  God. 
Beautiful  as  may  be  the  significant  ceremonies  that 
surround  their  reception,  the  grace  of  God  which 
they  infuse  into  the  soul  dominates  all,  as  the  life 
is  more  than  the  raiment. 

Goethe's  Summary.  Without  perhaps  being  able 
to  appreciate  their  essential  nature,  Goethe  has 
penned  a  remarkable  picture  of  the  sacraments  of 
the  Church  as  they  consecrate  the  Christian  life.  ^ 
''Here  a  youthful  pair  join  hands;  the  priest  pro- 
nounces his  blessing  upon  them,  and  the  bond  is  in- 
dissoluble. It  is  not  lonjg  before  this  wedded  pair 
bring  a  likeness  to  the  altar :  it  is  purified  with  holy 
water,  and  so  incorporated  into  the  Church,  and  it 
cannot  forfeit  this  benefit  but  through  monstrous 
apostasy.  The  child  in  the  course  of  life  goes  on 
progressing  in  earthly  things  of  his  own  accord;  in 
heavenly  things  he  must  be  instructed.  Does  it 
prove  on  examination  that  this  has  been  fully  done, 
he  is  now  received  into  the  bosom  of  the  church, 
as  a  voluntary  professor,  not  without  outward 
tokens  of  the  weightiness  of  this  act.  Now  he 
knows  his  advantages  and  also  his  duties. 

*'But,  in  the  meantime,  a  great  deal  that  is  strange 
has  happcjned  to  him:  through  instruction  and  af- 
fliction he  has  come  to  know  how  critical  appears 
the  state  of  his  inner  self,  and  there  will  constantly 
be  a  question  of  doctrines  and  of  transgressions. 
Here,  in  the  infinite  confusion  in  which  he  must 
entangle  himself,  an  admirable  expedient  is  given 
him,  in  confiding  his  deeds  and  misdeeds,  his  in- 
firmities and  doubts,  to  a  worthy  man,  appointed 
expressly  for  that  purpose,  who  knows  how  to  calm, 
to  warn,  to  strengthen  him,  to  chasten  him  like- 
wise by  symbolical  punishments,  and  at  last,  by  a 

*  Autobiographical  notes.     We  have  condensed  the  lengthy  quotation. 


306  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  ETERNITY 

complete  washing  away  of  his  guilt,  to  render  him 
happy. 

"Thus  prepared,  and  purely  set  at  rest  by  several 
sacramental  acts,  he  kneels  down  to  receive  the 
host ;  it  is  no  common  eating  and  drinking  that  satis- 
fies; it  is  a  heavenly  feast,  which  makes  him  thirst 
after  heavenly  drink. 

**And  what  has  been  so  well  tried  through  the 
whole  life,  is  now  to  show  forth  all  its  healing  power 
at  the  gate  of  death.  According  to  a  trustful  cus- 
tom, inculcated  from  youth,  the  dying  man  receives 
with  fervor  those  significant  assurances;  and  there, 
where  every  earthly  warranty  fails,  he  is  assured, 
by  a  heavenly  one,  of  a  blessed  existence  for  all 
eternity.  He  feels  perfectly  convinced  that  neither  a 
hostile  element  nor  a  malignant  spirit  can  hinder 
him  from  clothing  himself  with  a  glorified  body,  so 
that,  in  immediate  relation  with  the  Godhead,  he 
may  partake  of  the  boundless  happiness  which  flows 
forth  from  Him.  And  so,  through  a  brilliant  cycle 
of  equally  holy  acts,  the  beauty  of  which  we  have 
only  briefly  hinted  at,  the  cradle  and  the  grave, 
however  far  asunder  they  may  chance  to  be,  are 
joined  in  one  continuous  circle. 

**But  all  these  spiritual  wonders  spring  not,  like 
other  fruits,  from  the  natural  soil.  We  must  sup- 
plicate for  them  from  another  region.  Here  we  meet 
the  highest  of  these  symbols.  "We  are  told  that  one 
man  may  be  more  favored  and  empowered  from 
above  than  another.  This  great  boon,  bound  up 
with  a  heavy  duty,  must  be  communicated  to  others 
by  one  authorized  person  to  another;  must  be  pre- 
served and  perpetuated  on  earth  by  spiritual  inherit- 
ance. In  the  very  ordination  of  the  priest  is  com- 
prehended all  that  is  necessary  for  the  effectual 
solemnizing  of  those  holy  acts  by  which  the  multi- 
tude receive  grace.    And  thus  the  priest  joins  the 


EEeUME  OF  PART  ^HREE  307 

line  of  his  predecessors  and  successors,  in  the  circle 
of  those  anointed  with  him,  representing  the  highest 
source  of  blessings,  so  much  the  more  gloriously,  as 
it  is  not  he,  the  priest  whom  we  reverenge,  but  his 
office;  it  is  not  his  nod  to  which  we  bow  the  knee, 
but  the  blessing  which  he  imparts.'' 


PAET  FOUK 

THE  CHURCH  IN  HISTORY 
67.    NEED  OF  HISTORICAL  PERSPECTIVE 

To  have  a  right  appreciation  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, one  must  know  something  of  its  history  as 
well  as  its  precepts  of  faith  and  morals.  Chris- 
tianity is  not  merely  a  theory.  It  is  a  living  thing 
which  has  occupied  a  very  large  place  in  the  world 
for  the  past  1900  years.  To  know  it  only  in  the 
social  and  political  environment  of  the  19th  and 
20th  centuries,  would  be  to  miss  its  proper  propor- 
tions and  relation  to  other  institutions,  as  well  as 
the  achievements  which  have  tested  and  proven  the 
worth  of  its  teachings  and  the  vitality  of  its  consti- 
tution. 

The  Church  was  born  into  a  world  very  different 
from  our  own.  She  witnessed  the  delirious  agonies 
of  dying  paganism  and  the  crumbling  of  a  once 
splendid  civilization,  in  the  passing  of  the  ancient 
Roman  Empire.  She  went  down  into  the  dark  valley 
of  barbarism  and  led  the  tribes  of  northern  Europe 
upward  to  the  mountain  heights  of  our  present  civili- 
zation. While  for  twenty  centuries  she  has  passed 
on  the  divine  fire  from  generation  to  generation  of 
trusted  hands,  she  has  had  to  apply  her  same  eternal 
principles  to  many  different  problems  of  society  and 
diverse  conditions  of  time  and  place.     She  has  strug- 

308 


HISTORICAIi  PERSPECTIVE  309 

gled  with  a  thousand  enemies ;  rejoiced  with  a  thou- 
sand friends ;  compromised  in  a  thousand  indifferent 
matters.  She  was  once  the  sole  teacher  of  Europe. 
Hence  it  is  that  her  ideas  are  woven  into  the  very 
fiber  of  our  civilization :  and  no  less  has  every  stage 
in  the  evolution  of  that  civilization  left  its  impress 
and  memory  on  the  human  side  of  her  institutions. 

** History/'  says  Cicero,  ''is  the  witness  of  time,  the 
light  of  truth,  the  life  of  memory,  the  teacher  of 
life,  the  messenger  of  antiquity. '^  There  are  tourists 
who  see  nothing  more  in  the  ruins  of  Pompeii  than 
in  the  fire-swept  district  of  an  American  city;  who 
wander  through  the  galleries  of  art  hardly  know- 
ing whether  Apollo  was  a  Roman  emperor  or  a 
Greek  poet;  who  steam  up  the  Rhine  quite  ignorant 
of  the  legends  of  its  rocks  and  castles,  or  the  his- 
tory of  the  peoples  that  have  lived  and  battled  on 
its  shores;  w^ho  measure  each  country  at  a  glance, 
and  by  their  own  standards,  complacently  innocent 
of  a  word  of  its  language,  the  interior  of  its  homes, 
its  natural  resources,  climatic  peculiarities,  or  social 
antecedents.  If  such  travelers  discourse  on  Europe, 
it  is  generally  only  to  amuse  or  grieve  the  informed, 
and  to  mislead  the  ignorant.  Similarly  one  cannot 
pretend  to  discuss  the  Christian  religion  or  the  cus- 
toms and  institutions  which  have  grown  out  of  its 
activity  in  various  ages  and  lands,  without  being 
familiar  with  the  outlines,  at  least,  of  its  history; 
and  so  able  to  look  down  the  vista  of  time  and  see 
things  in  their  true  relation  and  perspective. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  PAGAN 
KOMAN  EMPIRE 

68.     THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE 

At  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ,  Octavius  reigned  as 
the  first  emperor  of  the  Roman  Empire,  with  the 
divine  title  of  Augustus.  In  his  hands  was  centered 
the  political  government  of  practically  the  then 
known  world.  From  the  forum  of  Rome  military 
roads  led  to  Spain  and  Gaul,  to  the  Rhine  and  the 
Danube.  The  barbarous  Britons,  whose  island 
Caesar  had  just  invaded,  the  Greeks  whose  culture, 
in  some  ways,  has  not  been  surpassed,  were  alike 
governed  by  the  city  whose  genius  for  organization 
even  surpassed  her  military  valor.  Besides  western 
Europe,  the  Empire  included  the  provinces  of  Pan- 
nonia,  Dacia,  Mesia,  Thrace,  in  eastern  Europe; 
northern  Africa  and  the  other  Mediterranean  coun- 
tries; Palestine,  Assyria,  Parthia,  Armenia,  Arabia, 
the  remnants  of  the  ancient  monarchies  of  Alexan- 
der,  Darius,  Cyrus,   and  Nebuchadnezzar. 

Latin  and  Greek.  The  languages  of  the  empire 
were  Latin  and  Greek.  After  Alexander  the  Great, 
Greek  culture  had  spread  throughout  the  civilized 
East.  The  Roman  Latin  was  diffused  from  every 
army  post  throughout  the  "West.  The  title  of  the 
Cross  of  Jesus  was  written  by  Pontius  Pilate,  the 
Roman  governor  of  Judea,  in  Latin  and  Greek  as 

310  « 


THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE  311 

well  as  Hebrew.  The  use  of  these  two  languages 
not  only  facilitated  the  union  and  government  of 
the  empire,  but  later  the  spread  and  cohesion  of 
the  Church.  They  were  destined  to  play  for  ages 
a  remarkable  part  in  the  culture  and  religion  of 
the  world. 

Augustan  Age.  Rome  developing  through  king- 
ship and  democracy  to  empire,  had  at  length  con- 
quered the  world.  The  battle  of  Actium,  31  B.  C, 
ended  the  civil  wars  which  had  followed  upon  the 
assassination  of  Julius  Caesar.  Peace  reigned  with 
Augustus.  The  doors  of  the  temple  of  Janus,  shut 
only  in  periods  of  universal  peace,  were  now  closed 
for  the  third  time  in  the  700  years  of  Rome's  ex- 
istence. The  age  of  Augustus  marked  the  zenith 
of  Roman  art  and  literature  as  well  as  government. 
Virgil,  Livy,  Horace,  and  Ovid  lived.  Cicero,  Sal- 
lust,  and  Nepos  had  just  passed  away.  But  be- 
neath the  external  glories,  the  elements  of  decay 
were  already  at  work.  Tiberius,  the  successor  of 
Octavius,  was  a  worthy  forerunner  of  Nero.  Such 
was  the  political  world  into  which  Jesus  Christ 
was  born  1900  years  ago. 

Pagan  Gods.  In  the  Roman  Empire  religious  wor- 
ship was  a  department  of  government,  and  the  of- 
ficial religion  was  polytheism,  or  that  form  of  pa- 
ganism which  worshiped  many  gods.  The  six 
greater  gods  of  the  Romans,  were  Jupiter,  the  chief ; 
Neptune,  god  of  the  sea ;  Vulcan,  of  fire ;  Apollo,  of 
the  sun,  beauty,  and  art;  Mars,  of  war;  Mercury, 
of  business  and  trickery.  The  six  greater  goddesses 
were  Juno,  the  chief  wife  of  Jupiter;  Minerva,  god- 
dess of  wisdom;  Diana,  of  hunting;  Ceres,  of  agri- 
culture; Vesta,  of  the  home;  Venus,  of  beauty  and 
love. 


312     CHURCH  AND  PAGAN  ROME 

Among  the  minor  deities  of  the  Olympian  family 
were  Bacchus,  god  of  wine;  Pluto,  of  the  dead; 
Latona,  another  wife  of  Jupiter ;  Cupid,  Saturn,  and 
innumerable  nymphs,  fauns,  satyrs,  and  demigods, 
identified  with  rivers,  mountains,  and  towns,  as  well 
as  with  every  affection  and  passion  of  mind  and 
body.  The  paganism  of  the  ancient  civilized  world 
seems  to  have  been  a  nature-worship  personifying 
and  clothing  in  fantastic  myth  and  legend,  every 
natural  element. 

The  empire  allowed  conquered  nations  to  retain 
their  gods,  and  even  brought  them  to  Rome  and 
placed  them  in  the  Pantheon  with  its  own;  though 
the  vanquished  were  obliged  to  observe  also  the 
national  worship.  So  that  besides  her  own  state  offi- 
cers of  religion,  Rome  sheltered  the  priests  of  every 
superstition.  In  the  provinces,  Egyptians  adored 
cats  and  other  animals;  their  neighbors  burned  hu- 
man beings  in  honor  of  Moloch  or  drowned  them 
to  please  other  deities.  Finally  Rome  apotheosized 
members  of  the  imperial  family  and  offered  sacrifice 
to  them,  in  some  cases  even  during  their  lives. 

Pagan  Religion.  The  realization  of  the  future  life, 
the  all-seeing  eye  of  an  infinitely  pure  and  just  God 
upon  every  action  of  the  humblest  life,  the  reward 
of  virtue  and  the  punishment  of  vice,  which  are 
the  daily  thought  of  Christian  faith  and  the  founda- 
tion of  moral  character,  were  no  such  staple  of  the 
pagan  religion.  The  gods  were  acknowledged  to 
be  impotent  to  secure  future  happiness.  Men  lived 
to  enjoy  the  present  and  the  gods  themselves  set  the 
example  of  immoral  lives.  Little  concerned  with 
human  affairs,  Jupiter  on  Olympus  was  supposed  to 
take  part  in  the  quarrels  of  his  divine  associates, 
and  freely  indulge  in  acts  which  all  lofty  moral 
codes  have  forbidden. 


THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE  313 

Temples  and  statues  were  everywhere.  Priests 
presided  over  ceremonies.  Augurs  and  haruspices 
pretended  to  discover  the  will  of  the  gods  from  the 
flight  and  entrails  of  birds.  In  the  name  of  re- 
ligion the  temples  were  polluted  with  shameless 
orgies.  Feasts  and  games,  as  well  as  sacrifices,  hon- 
ored the  gods.  The  state  injected  the  tests  and  prac- 
tices of  its  worship  into  the  daily  affairs  of  its 
soldiers,  office-holders,  and  citizens.  This  led  to  the 
easy  detection  of  Christians,  especially  among  men, 
whose  recorded  martyrdoms  far  exceed  those  of 
women.  Cajsar  assumed  the  title  of  Pontifex  Maxi- 
mus  and  discharged  the  duties  of  High  Priest,  the 
better  to  control  the  populace  through  the  supersti- 
tions and  amusements  of  their  religion. 

The  mythological  taleis  of  Rome  and  Greece  in 
the  epics  of  Virgil  and  Homer  delight  us,  after 
centuries,  by  their  exquisite  grace  and  imagination. 
But  they  come  to  us  merely  as  poetry  selected  and 
refined  by  the  touch  of  genius.  In  the  Venus  de 
Milo,  the  Apollo  Belvidere,  the  Faun  of  Praxiteles, 
and  other  statues  that  remain  to  us  from  the  past, 
sculpture  enchants  us  with  forms  of  quite  ideal 
beauty.  But  the  statues  are  to  us  only  works  of 
art.  It  is  a  different  thing  when  these  fancies  and 
fictions  are  the  gods  and  religion  of  a  mighty  peo- 
ple, their  only  deities,  impotent  and  dumb,  yet  usurp- 
ing the  place  of  the  one  living  God,  whose  truth  and 
love  alone  can  fill  the  soul-hunger  of  man. 

Society.  The  weakness  of  paganism  came  out  in 
every  department  of  social  life.  The  father  might 
annul  his  marriage,  expose  his  unwelcome  children, 
dismiss  and  even  kill  his  wife.  The  position  of 
woman  was  generally  without  dignity  or  public  es- 
teem. The  poor  were  outcasts.  Institutions  of  pub- 
lic charity  were  unknown.  The  amusements  of  the 
theater  were  cruel  and  bloody.     Perhaps  the  weak- 


314     CHURCH  AND  PAGAN  ROME 

ness'  can  best  be  seen  in  the  slavery  which  disre- 
garded the  natural  rights  of  man  and  reacted  on 
the  masters  and  their  children  to  their  utter  corrup- 
tion. 

Slavery.  Slaves  made  up  a  large  part  of  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  empire.  They  were  the  victims  of 
foreign  conquests  or  were  unfortunate  debtors. 
Gibbon  estimates  their  number  at  sixty  millions. 
"William  Blair  supposes  that  in  Rome  there  were 
three  slaves  to  one  freeman.  One  hundred  thou- 
sand captives  taken  by  Titus  in  the  Jewish  war,  were 
sold  as  cheap  as  cattle.  Rich  senators  owned 
20,000  slaves.  Horace  regarded  two  hundred  as  a 
suitable  establishment  for  a  gentleman.  The  slaves 
who  were  white  as  well  as  black,  cultivated  Greeks 
as  well  as  barbarians,  performed  all  manual  work, 
and  acted  as  schoolmasters,  secretaries,  artists,  and 
even  physicians.  Their  numbers  furnished  athletes 
and  gladiators  for  the  public  circus  and  Colosseum, 
where  they  battled  with  wild  beasts  and  fought 
each  other  to  the  death,  to  gratify  the  Romans'  blood- 
thirsty love  of  cruel  amusements.  Thus  five  hun- 
dred gladiators  figured  in  a  single  day  in  the  games 
given  by  the  Emperor  Gordianus. 

The  slave  was  the  master's  property  to  be  out- 
raged, scourged,  or  crucified.  If  a  Spartacus  rose 
up  and  slew  the  master,  every  slave  of  the  estate 
was  condemned  to  death.  But  vengeance  came. 
The  refined  Greek  who  could  be  made  to  obey  the 
most  offensive  orders  of  a  capricious  Roman,  taught 
that  Roman  the  vices  which  left  him  a  degenerate. 
The  barbarian  who  toiled  without  remuneration  or 
thanks,  thereby  led  the  master  to  indulge  his  ease 
and  become  a  weakling.  Slavery,  losing  sight  of 
the  brotherhood  of  man  in  the  destiny  and  dignity 
of  the  soul,  destroyed  all  manliness  of  character, 
created  contempt  for  honest  labor,  cursed  Rome  by 


THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE  315 

making  her  citizens  first  cruel,  then  idle,  then  weak 
and  finally  powerless. 

Citizenship.  The  patriotism  of  the  days  of  the 
republic  faded  away  before  the  despotism  by  which 
one  man  ruled  all  classes  and  bestowed  all  offices 
and  honors,  from  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  to  the  Cas- 
pian Sea.  The  lands  of  conquest  fell  into  the  hands 
of  powerful  families.  In  the  time  of  Cicero  only 
two  thousand  citizens  possessed  independent  prop- 
erty. Senators  owned  whole  provinces.  This 
wealth  was  lavished  in  luxury  never  paralleled. 
*'Quo  Vadis"  describes  a  banquet  of  the  Emperor 
Nero.  Patriotism  and  honor,  art,  literature  and  ora- 
tory began  to  be  forgotten  amid  avarice  and  sensu- 
ality. The  highest  men  practiced  unspeakable  per- 
versions without  secrecy  or  reproach.  Cooks,  come- 
dians and  dancers  received  the  consideration  which 
Athens  once  gave  to  artists  and  philosophers.  Men 
sought  only  the  means  with  which  they  could  pur- 
chase pleasure.  No  dignitary  was  respected  for  his 
office:  nor  office  prized,  save  for  its  gains.  Money 
was  the  first  consideration  in  matrimonial  alliances. 
The  unfortunate  debtor  was  sold  with  his  children 
at  auction,  or  cut  to  pieces  ^nd  distributed  among 
his  creditors.  ^ 

The  rich  and  poor  drifted  farther  apart.  The  lat- 
ter were  finally  dependent  and  helpless.  While  they 
took  away  their  political  rights,  emperors  flattered 
the  common  citizens,  amused  them  with  shows  and 
fed  them  with  the  pillage  of  African  granaries,  till 
they  lost  every  semblance  of  character  and  inde- 
pendence. Pestilence,  famine,  and  squalor  thinned 
their  ranks.  The  helpless  were  left  to  die.  There 
was  no  institution  of  charity  for  the  sick  or  old, 
such  as  fill  our  Christian  world.  And  these  were 
Rome's  citizens. 

^  Seneca : — Law  of  the  12   Tables. 


316     CHUKCH  AND  PAGAN  ROME 

The  Emperor.  A  glimpse  at  the  lives  of  the  Ro- 
man Emperors  will  give  perhaps  the  best  insight 
into  the  moral  world  when  Christianity  began  its 
work  of  regeneration:  and  will  help  the  reader  to 
realize  the  greatness  of  the  difficulties  which  the 
new  religion  had  to  overcome  and  of  the  benefits 
it  has  conferred.  Tiberius  (A.  D.  14-37),  the  suc- 
cessor of  Augustus,  says  Tacitus,  '' abandoned  him- 
self to  every  sort  of  profligacy  and  detestable 
cruelty,  following  no  guide  but  his  abominable  in- 
clinations till  he  was  murdered  by  the  praetorian 
commander."  Caligula  (37-41),  spent  sixty-three 
million  dollars  in  one  year  on  games  and  entertain- 
ments and  refilled  the  treasury  by  the  confiscation 
and  murder  of  the  wealthiest  citizens.  He  delighted 
to  watch  the  blood  and  agonies  of  his  victims ;  housed 
in  a  palace  and  entertained  at  table  his  horse,  which 
was  the  object  of  his  affections;  built  a  temple  and 
sacrificed  to  himself  as  a  god.  He  was  stabbed  by 
the  tribune  Cherea.  Claudius  (41-54),  a  degenerate, 
was  poisoned  by  his  wife  Agrippina,  after  murdering 
his  wife  Messalina,  35  senators  and  300  knights. 
Nero  (54-68),  at  eighteen  poisoned  his  brother  at 
table  and  saw  him  expire  in  agony  without  betray- 
ing the  least  emotion.  He  murdered  his  mother 
Agrippina,  his  wives  Octavia  and  Poppea.  The  lives 
of  the  most  illustrious  Romans  were  the  sport  of  his 
tyranny.  He  built  his  famous  house  of  gold;  loved 
a  monkey,  which  he  buried  with  royal  pomp ;  perse- 
cuted the  Christians,  including  Peter  and  Paul,  to 
divert  from  himself,  it  is  said,  the  accusation  of  hav- 
ing burned  Rome.  He  killed  himself  at  the  age  of 
31,  to  escape  the  vengeance  of  the  pople. 

Galba,  Otho,  and  Vitellius  (68-69),  were  all  made 
emperors  and  murdered  within  a  year.  After  a 
period  under  worthier  emperors,  the  brief  hundred 
years  from  Commodus  (180)  to  Diocletian  (284)  wit- 


SPREAD  OP  CHRISTIANITY  .  317 

nessed  the  violent  deaths  of  thirty  out  of  the  thirty- 
four  emperors  raised  to  the  dignity  of  the  imperial 
purple.  It  would  be  hard  to  say  which  of  these 
names  is  most  odious:  Commodus,  monster  rather 
than  man,  strangled  by  his  own  household ;  or  Cara- 
calla,  fratricide,  murdered  at  29  by  a  centurion; 
or  Heliogabalus,  degenerate,  slain  by  the  disgusted 
soldiers;  or  Diocletian,  who  blinded  with  the  blood 
of  innumerable  martyrs,  thought  he  had  wiped  out 
the  Christian  name. 

Need  of  Savior.  Meanwhile  petty  poets  flattered 
the  tyrants.  The  wise  retired  from  active  life  in 
despair  and  misanthropy  or  turned  to  the  Christian 
religion.  Cynics  like  Petronius,  when  they  w^earied 
of  pleasure  or  feared  the  imperial  frown,  opened 
their  veins.  Suicide  was  so  common  as  to  attract  no 
attention.  When  vitality  has  fled,  the  corrupt  body 
.must  die.  In  pagan  Rome,  principle,  patriotism, 
virtue,  had  all  passed  away:  and  pagan  Rome  was 
dying.  The  philosophers  well  said  in  their  despair, 
that  only  a  God  could  save  the  world. 

69.     SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Within  the  life-time  of  the  Apostles  sent  by  Jesus 
Christ  to  bear  His  message  of  salvation  to  the  world, 
began  that  miraculous  spread  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, which  has  been  looked  upon  as  an  evidence 
of  its  divinity.  Peter  was  active  at  Jerusalem,  An- 
tioch,  and  Rome.  Paul  journeyed  through  Asia 
Minor,  Greece,  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean, 
Italy,  and  perhaps  Spain.  Tradition  assigns  James 
as  Bishop  of  Jerusalem;  Matthew  to  India  and 
Ethiopia;  Thomas  to  India;  Andrew  to  Scythia; 
Bartholomew  to  South  Arabia;  Simon  Zelotes  and 
Matthias  to  Africa.  Thaddeus  was  at  Edessa. 
Philip  died  at  Phrygia.     Mark  was  Bishop  of  Alex- 


318     CHUECH  AND  PAGAN  ROME 

andria.  John,  the  only  Apostle  who  did  not  di(i 
in  martyrdom,  though  he  suffered  its  torments,  toiled 
in  many  places  including  Rome,  Patmos,  and  Ephe- 
sus. 

Spread  of  the  Church.  The  rapid  growth  of  the 
Church  is  evidenced  by-  the  exclamation  of  Tertul- 
lian,  born  about  the  year  160,  in  his  Apology  ad- 
dressed to  the  Roman  Senate :  * '  We  fill  your  cities, 
towns,  senates,  and  armies;  leaving  you  only  your 
temples  and  theaters.''  This  was  not  literally  true, 
else  Rome  might  never  have  fallen.  But  while  pa- 
ganism still  ruled,  and  its  followers  were  the  great 
majority,  it  was  true  that  the  Christian  leaven  was 
everywhere  influencing  individual  lives  and  gaining 
disciples  for  Christ.  Christian  soldiers  carried  the 
new  faith  with  its  hope  and  charity,  to  the  outposts 
of  the  army.  The  incident  of  the  thundering  legion 
reveals  a  whole  company  of  Christians  in  the  ranks 
of  Marcus  Aurelius.  A  century  after  Tertullian, 
by  the  time  the  first  Roman  Emperor  embraced 
Christianity,  and  300  Bishops  could  assemble  at  the 
Council  of  Nice,  and  the  name  pagan  was  given  to 
the  heathens  who  predominated  only  in  the  country 
places,  the  remark  of  Tertullian  would  not  be  far 
from  the  facts. 

Church  at  Rome.  Christians  were  from  the  first, 
numerous  in  Rome.  The  great  Apostles  Peter  and 
Paul,  both  saw  the  advantages  presented  by  the 
capital  of  the  Empire,  as  a  center  from  which  to 
facilitate  the  spread  of  the  Church.  St.  Peter  wrote 
his  first  epistle  from  this  western  Babylon,  whose 
conversion  he  had  the  courage  to  undertake.  ^  Be- 
fore St.  Paul's  first  visit  to  Rome,  the  faith  of  its 
Christians  was  an  encouragement  to  their  brethren 
throughout  the  provinces.  ^  Claudius  confounding 
the  Christians  with  the  Jews,  banished  them  from 

iSee  No.  16.  «  Rom.  1,  8. 


SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY  319 

Rome.  But  they  were  soon  back,  making  converts 
among  all  classes,  in  the  jails,  the  army,  and  even  the 
imperial  palace.  Flavins  Clemens,  and  his  wife,  St. 
Domitilla,  were  relatives  of  the  Emperor  Domitian. 
Many  converts  were  people  of  influence. 

Charity.  The  distribution  of  alms  and  the  care 
of  the  poor,  became  through  the  contributions  of  the 
wealthier,  a  telling  practice  of  the  early  Church. 
Offerings  were  made  by  the  faithful  every  Sunday, 
whence  a  large  system  of  benevolence  arose.  This 
led  to  the  districting  of  the  city  into  deaconates. 
When  the  deacon  Lawrence  was  ordered  to  sur- 
render the  treasure  of  the  Church,  he  presented  to 
the  magistrate  a  multitude  of  the  maimed  and  needy. 
Rich  families  converted  their  palaces  into  schools, 
hospitals,  and  chapels ;  and  on  the  eve  of  martyrdom 
often  gave  their  property  to  the  poor.  The  Chris- 
tians, however  mediately  perhaps,  influenced  Nerva 
and  Trajan  to  make  some  public  provision  for  or- 
phans: while  their  pervading  charity  made  the 
pagans  admire :  **How  these  Christians  love  one  an- 
other!'' 

Causes  of  Propagation.  The  causes  of  the  rapid 
spread  of  Christianity  were:  1.  The  force  of  truth 
in  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  satisfying  the  most 
learned,  and  intelligible  to  the  lowliest.  2.  The 
miracles  of  the  Apostles  and  their  successors.  3. 
Their  authority  as  eye-witnesses  of  the' resurrection. 
4.  Their  appeal  to  the  fulfillment  of  the  Jewish  and 
Sibylline  prophecies.  5.  The  pui^e  and  virtuous  lives 
of  the  Cliristians  amid  disgustingly  immoral  sur- 
roundings. 6.  The  zeal  of  the  neophytes,  shared 
alike  by  nobles,  masters,  and  slaves,  who  in  Chris- 
tianity found  their  common  brotherhood  in  God.  7. 
The  example  and  miracles  of  the  martyrs.  8.  The 
wonderfully  wise  organization  of  the  Church. 

The  historian  Gibbon  supposes  that  these  reasons 


320     CHURCH  AND  PAGAN  ROME 

account  for  the  propagation  of  Christianity  on  purely 
natural  grounds.  But  these  very  reasons  suppose  the 
supernatural  and  divine.  Why  were  the  early  Chris- 
tians so  zealous  and  their  belief  so  vital  as  to  in- 
fluence others  to  join  them  ?  Their  sanctity  effected 
conversions,  but  what  caused  that  sanctity.  If  mira- 
cles were  really  performed  they  prove  the  divinity 
of  Christianity.  If  they  were  not,  then  as  St.  Au- 
gustine observes,  the  Christian  progress  without 
them,  was  itself  a  miracle.  The  organization  of 
the  Church  attracted  and  held  inquiring  minds,  as 
it  does  still.  But  who  fashioned  that  organiza- 
tion uniting  the  most  discordant  elements?  It  was 
clearly  above  the  power  of  the  first  Apostles  to  do. 
Thus  we  see  these  causes  were  themselves  effects 
of  one  great  cause.  The  cause  of  the  causes  was 
divine. 

70.     PERSECUTION  AND  TRIUMPH. 

The  activity  and  success  of  the  Christians  in  win- 
ning the  world  to  Christ,  did  not  proceed  without 
violent  opposition  from  paganism.  Under  Nero,  laws 
were  made  and  put  into  execution  for  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  new  religion.  Among  the  victims  of 
this  persecution  were  Peter  and  Paul,  singled  out 
as  the  leaders  of  the  Christians.  The  spirit  of  perse- 
cution continued  for  300  years  till  the  conversion  of 
Constantine, — now  lying  dormant,  now  breaking  out 
in  awful  slaughter.  According  to  St.  Augustine, 
it  was  particularly  active  under  Nero,  Domitian, 
Trajan,  Marcus  Aurelius,  Septimus  Severus,  Maxi- 
minus,  Decius,  Valerian,  Aurelian,  and  Diocletian. 

Martyrdom.  The  alternative  of  apostasy  or  death 
by  torture,  was  offered  to  Christians  who  were  perse- 
cuted through  the  provinces  as  well  as  in  the  city, 
and  with  such  slaughter  at  times  that  men  like  Dio- 


PERSECUTION  AND  TRIUMPH  321 

• 

cletian  could  imagine  that  they  had  wiped  out  the 
Christian  name.  Of  the  first  persecution,  the  pagan 
historian,  Tacitus,  writes :  ^  * '  An  immense  multitude 
of  the  Christians  were  condemned.  To  their  suf- 
ferings Nero  added  mockery  and  derision.  Some 
were  covered  with  the  skins  of  wild  beasts  to  be 
devoured  by  dogs ;  others  were  crucified ;  many  were 
covered  with  inflammable  material  and  set  afire  at 
night  to  burn  as  torches  in  the  public  gardens." 
The  historian  Eusebius  witnessed  with  his  own  eyes 
some  of  the  horrors  of  the  Diocletian  era.  Dungeons 
and  prisons  were  filled,  he  says,  with  bishops,  priests, 
deacons,  and  the  faithful  people.  These  were  of- 
fered their  liberty  if  they  would  sacrifice  to  the  pa- 
gan gods,  or  excruciating  death  if  they  refused.  He 
saw  many  decapitated,  others  burned  alive.  "Who 
can  tell, ' '  he  says,  * '  the  numbers  of  these  martyi*s  in 
every  province?" 

In  his  Apocalypse,  -  St.  John,  who  was  tortured 
with  boiling  oil  and  exiled  to  Patmos,  under  Domi- 
tian,  describes  the  capitol  of  the  pagan  empire,  the 
new  Babylon  which  had  kingdom  over  the  kings 
of  the  earth,  as  the  scarlet  women  drunk  with  the 
blood  of  the  martyrs  and  doomed  to  destruction 
for  her  abominations.  History  verily  witnessed  the 
fall  of  pagan  Rome  and  the  triumph  of  Christianity 
in  the  eternal  city. 

The  Circus  and*  the  Colosseum  of  Vespasian  are 
said  to  have  been  favorite  places  for  the  torture 
of  Christians.  Eighty-five  thousand  people  could, 
from  the  marble  benches  of  the  Colosseum,  watch 
the  sport  which  cost  human  lives.  To  the  amuse- 
ment afforded  by  the  bloody  combats  of  gladiators, 
slaves,  and  wild  beasts,  the  slaughter  of  Christians 
added  the  gratification  of  the  terrible  passion  of  re- 
ligious hatred.     How  many  Christians  suffered  death 

1  Annals   15,   44.  =  See  No.  16. 


322     CHURCH  AND  PAGAN  ROME 

• 
in  the  first  300  years  of  our  era,  will  never  be  known 
on  earth.  Some  estimate  the  number  as  several  mil- 
lions. From  St.  Peter,  who  was  crucified  under  Nero, 
to  the  days  of  peace  under  Constantine,  practically 
every  Bishop  of  Rome  bore  testimony  to  the  faith 
by  his  blood;  their  more  conspicuous  position  as 
chief  pastor  of  the  Church  marking  one  Pope  after 
the  other  for  martyrdom. 

Catacombs.  The  catacombs  afforded  a  place  of 
concealment  to  the  early  Christians  pursued  by  perse- 
cution. These  subterranean  cemeteries,  dug  out  of 
the  soft,  granular  tufa,  stretch  in  every  direction 
under  different  parts  of  Rome.  Their  labyrinths, 
in  which  the  stranger  would  be  almost  immediately 
lost,  were  the  asylum  of  safety  and  the  sanctuary 
of  worship  for  the  Christians,  as  well  as  the  burial 
place  of  their  dead.  At  first  private  cemeteries  of 
rich  families,  opened  to  the  use  of  the  brethren,  we 
find  under  Pope  Zephyrinus  (A.  D.  202-219),  the  pub- 
lic Christian  cemetery  of  Calixtus;  and  under  Pope 
Fabian  (A.  D.  236-251),  several  community  cata- 
combs. These  ramifications  of  underground  vaults, 
with  their  galleries,  sometimes  consisting  of  several 
tiers  ranging  one  below  the  other,  aggregate  many 
miles,  and  were  the  burial  place  of  numerous  Chris- 
tian martyrs  and  confessors  of  the  faith. 

The  early  Christians  justly  regarded  their 
martyred  brethren  as  heroes  of '  religion  and  pre- 
served their  memory  as  an  example  to  future  genera- 
tions and  as  a  bond  of  union  between  the  Church 
militant  on  earth  and  triumphant  in  heaven.  The 
bodies  of  the  martyrs  were  treated  with  religious 
reverence,  as  the  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of 
saints  of  God.  Their  tombs  in  the  catacombs  were 
the  tables  on  which  the  Holy  Eucharist  was  cele- 
brated. On  the  marble  slabs  which  enclose  the 
graves,  as  well  as  on  the  walls  of  the  catacombs,  are 


PERSECUTION  AND  TRIUMPH  323 

found  inscriptions,  pictures,  and  Christian  emblems 
which  reveal  the  faith  and  practices  of  the  primitive 
Christians;  and  are  interesting  to  the  apologist  as 
well  as  to  the  antiquarian,  since  they  explain  the 
origii;  of  many  customs  still  continuing  in  the 
Church. 

Anti-Christian  Writings.  Paganism  attacked  the 
rising  faith  with  the  pen  as  well  as  the  sword.  Able 
writers  endeavored  to  refute  Christianity  and  to 
rehabilitate  polytheism.  Celsus  the  philosopher 
tried  in  his  *'Word  of  Truth,"  to  discredit  the  new 
religion  with  calumny  and  contempt.  Lucian  the 
satirist  made  it  the  butt  of  his  ridicule.  Porphyrins, 
the  Neo-Platonist,  wrote  fifteen  books  against  Chris- 
tianity. His  school  of  philosophy,  like  the  Neo- 
Pythagorean,  offered  a  fierce  contest,  both  by  ex- 
citing the  hatred  of  governors  and  people,  and  by 
defending  paganism,  giving  to  its  myths  an  alle- 
gorical interpretation,  introducing  into  it  elements 
borrowed  from  Christianity,  and  to  offset  Jesus 
Christ,  idealizing  as  a  god  the  philosopher  and  ma- 
gician Apollonius  of  Tyre. 

These  attacks  brought  out  the  Christian  writers 
in  defense  of  their  faith.  The  fathers,^  among 
whom  were  gifted  men  who  themselves  had  been 
teachers  in  pagan  schools  of  rhetoric  and  philosophy, 
explained  the  real  teachings  and  practices  of  the 
Christians,  and  pointed  out  the  virtue  and  innocence 
of  their  lives  and  their  loyalty  to  the  Emperors 
in  all  the  duties  of  a  citizen. 

Causes  of  Persecution.  Many  causes  combined  to 
stir  up  the  hatred  of  the  pagans  against  Christianity, 
and  to  lead  even  men  like  Marcus  Aurelius  to  be 
persecutors.  The  origin  and  death  of  Christ  and 
the  social  condition  of  the  Apostles  perplexed  fhe 
heathen    mind    and    repulsed    their    fastidiousness. 

«Cf.  No.  37. 


324     CHURCH  AND  PAGAN  ROME 

The  pride  of  reason  balked  at  the  mysteries  of 
Christianity;  and  the  self-indulgence  which  never 
knew  a  curb,  still  more  at  its  self-denial  and  humil- 
ity. The  business  interests  of  those  who  catered  to 
the  vast  machinery  of  pagan  worship,  were  jeopar- 
dized. The  Romans  who  tolerated  all  foreign  deities 
without  excluding  their  own,  resented  the  Christian 
claim  to  be  the  one  true  religion.  Military  emperors 
counted  as  a  danger  to  the  state,  the  Christian  sol- 
diers' refusal  to  take  part  in  the  worship  managed 
by  the  state  or  to  swear  by  the  genius  of  the  Im- 
perator.  Slanderers  accused  the  Christians  of  every 
abomination  from  treason  and  atheism  to  murdering 
children  and  drinking  their  blood.  Every  calamity 
was  blamed  on  the  revilers  of  the  national  gods, 
and  the  remedy  was  *'The  Christians  to  the 
lions.'' 

The  battle  of  the  Milvian  Bridge  (A.  D.  312),  was 
the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch  for  Christianity. 
Eusebius  and  other  contemporaneous  writers  as- 
sociate the  conversion  of  the  Roman  Emperor  Con- 
stantine  the  Great,  with  the  beautiful  story  of  the 
dazzling  cross  appearing  in  the  heavens  on  the  eve 
of  the  conflict  with  Maxentius,  and  bearing  the  mes- 
sage, "In  this  sign  thou  shalt  conquer."  In  the  su- 
preme moment  when  brooding  over  the  uncertain 
outcome  of  the  unequal  struggle  with  his  rival  for 
the  empire,  Constantine  abandoned  the  impostures 
of  paganism  and  called  upon  the  God  of  his  mother 
Helena.  While  Constantine  remained  long  under 
instruction  and  preparation  as  a  catechumen,  he 
meantime  worked  constantly  and  prudently  to  have 
Christianity  gradually  become  the  recognized  re- 
ligion of  the  state.  As  a  statesman,  he  saw  that 
Christianity  spread  far  and  wide,  had  left  paganism 
meaningless  as  a  moral  force :  and  he  hoped  it  might 
be  able  still  to  infuse  life  into  the  decaying  empire. 


PERSECUTION  AND  TRIUMPH  325 

But  Providence  had  set  for  the  Church  a  greater 
mission,  which  history  was  soon  to  reveal. 

Christ  Reigns.  The  edict  of  Milan  (A.  D.  313), 
granted  to  the  Christians  perfect  toleration,  and 
restored  their  civil  rights  and  their  confiscated 
property.  The  Church  became  exceptionally  privi- 
leged. It  could  free  slaves  in  particular  cases. 
Sunday,  which  from  the  time  of  the  Apostles  had 
beep  kept  holy  to  the  Lord,  was  made  likewise  the 
civil  day  of  rest.  Bishops  were  given  certain  judicial 
authority  and  ranked  in  honor  above  civil  magis- 
trates. Practices  most  offensive  to  Christian  feeling 
and  teaching  were  abolished,  as  the  bloody  combats 
of  gladiators,  the  destruction  of  new-born  infants, 
and  the  punishment  of  crucifixion.  Little  by  little 
heathen  worship  was  suppressed. 

The  new  eastern  capital,  Constantinople,  which 
Constantine  built  (330)  on  the  site  of  Byzantium, 
was  a  Christian  city,  adorned  with  splendid  churches 
and  inhabited  mostly  by  the  faithful.  Jerusalem 
and  its  holy  places  were  reclaimed.  St.  Helena  re- 
placed with  churches  the  temples  of  Venus  and 
Jupiter  erected  by  Hadrian  on  the  sites  of  Christ's 
passion  and  death;  and  was  rewarded  by  the  dis- 
covery on  Mt.  Calvary  of  the  true  Cross. 

Thus  after  300  years  of  struggle  and  suffering 
Christianity  was  triumphant.  Julian  the  Apostate, 
nephew  of  Constantine,  indeed*  attempted  to  restore 
paganism.  But  his  reign  of  twenty  months  w^as 
only  a  passing  cloud.  The  cause  of  victory  was  the 
internal  strength  of  the  Christian  religion,  the  in- 
evitableness  of  truth.  The  fruit  was  the  liberty  of 
man  in  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Jesus  Christ  had 
taught  that  man  should  be  free  to  know,  love  and 
serve  God.  By  th'e  exercise  of  this  liberty,  servitude 
w^as  vanquished.  For  three  centuries  the  martyrs 
boldly  declared  their  faith;  and  then  died  for  it. 


326     CHURCH  AND  PAGAN  EOME 

And  in  three  centuries  they  were  masters,  that  is 
free.  The  kingdom  of  Christ  was  mightier  than  the 
Kingdom  of  Caesar;  and  the  capital  of  the  passing 
empire  was  destined  to  be  the  capital  of  the  Christian 
Church. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  MIGRATION  AND  CONVERSION 
OF  THE  NATIONS 

71.    THE  MIGRATION  OF  THE  NATIONS. 

The  migration  of  the  nations  is  the  key  to  the 
history  of  Europe  for  the  thousand  years  after  the 
fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  New  barbarian  tribes 
swept  away  that  Empire.  Their  development  from 
the  chaos  of  savage  desolating  hordes,  to  their  union 
in  the  new  Christian  Empire  of  Charlemagne,  then 
to  their  later  achievements  in  art  and  science,  and 
so  up  to  their  present  position  as  the  leading  nations 
of  the  world,  is  the  work  of  slowly  refining  centuries, 
and  marks  the  periods  known  as  the  middle  ages 
(A.  D.  476-1500)  and  modern  times.  Their  conver- 
sion to  Christianity  and  civilization  was  the  work  of 
the  Catholic  Church  and  abides  as  one  of  her  glories. 

The  Rhine  and  the  Danube  \vere  the  north-eastern 
boundaries  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Within  these 
boundaries,  to  the  south  and  west  dwelt  the  Aryan 
tribes  that  had  come  to  Europe  in  prehistoric  times : 
— some  Teutons;  more  Celts,  as  the  Gauls,  Britons 
and  Gaels.  Conquering  Roman  legions  and  provin- 
cial governments  had  brought  them  considerable 
civilization;  while  by  the  fourth  century,  the  zeal 
of  apostolic  missionaries,  backed  by  the  example 
of  converted  soldiers  and  the  influence  of  Constan- 
tine,  had  planted  flourishing  Christian  missions 
everywhere  among  them. 

The  Barbarians.    To  the  north  and  east  of  the 

327 


328         MIGRATION  AND  CONVERSION 

river  borders  of  the  empire,  dwelt  the  Visigoths, 
Ostrogoths,  Alemanni,  Franks,  Vandals  and  other 
rude  and  powerful  Teutonic  and  probably  Slav 
tribes,  against  whose  occasional  incursions  the 
Roman  legions  had  long  guarded  their  frontiers  in 
vain.  In  the  unknown  territory  behind  these  na- 
tions, roamed  the  Huns,  a  Turanian  race  of  the  Turk- 
ish family,  driven  from  China  or  Tartary  a  few  cen- 
turies previously. 

In  the  year  375,  these  savage  Huns  crossed  the 
Volga.  Their  irruption  upon  the  Aryan  tribes  set 
the  whole  seething  mass  of  barbarians  in  motion. 
"Westward  across  the  empire  their  course  of  depre- 
dation took  its  way.  Strong  nations  dislodged 
weaker  tribes  and  in  turn  succumbed  to  more  power- 
ful confederations.  Europe  became  the  battle 
ground  of  contending  tribes  who  strove  fiercely  for 
the  fairest  provinces  of  the  empire,  from  the  inva- 
sion of  the  Goths  who  fled  before  the  Huns  in  378, 
to  that  of  the  Longobards  in  570. 

Imperial  Rome  that  for  600  years  had  seen  no 
enemy  before  her  gates,  and  for  800  none  within  her 
walls,  was  besieged  by  the  Goths  under  Alaric  in 
408,  and  spared  for  an  enormous  ransom,  only  to  be 
again  besieged  and  sacked  by  him  in  the  following 
years. 

Battle  of  the  Nations.  In  451,  near  Chalon-sur- 
Marne,  on  the  Catalaunian  Fields  was  fought  the 
terrible  Battle  of  the  Nations.  On  the  one  side  were 
the  Huns  under  Attila,  reenforced  by  a  vast  medley 
of  conquered  tribes  swelling  their  army  to  700,000 
men.  On  the  other  side,  Visigoths,  Burgundians, 
Alans,  Franks,  Saxons  were  mustered  with  the 
Romans.  On  the  field  of  battle  remained  160,000 
dead.  But  their  blood  saved  Christianity  and  the 
hopes  of  Aryan  civilization  from  the  destruction 
menaced  by  Turanian  savagery  and  heathenism. 


MIGRATION  OF  NATIONS  329 

Attila  and  Pope  Leo  I.  Breathing  vengeance  for 
his  defeat,  Attila  the  Hun  crossed  the  Alps  with  his 
hordes,  and  with  ruin  ever  marking  his  path,  swept 
down  toward  Rome,  eager  to  sack  the  capital  de- 
serted by  the  Csesars  and  add  its  treasures  to  his 
spoils  and  crush  out  this  one  remaining  light  of 
western  civilization.  liis  victorious  march  was 
arrested  not  by  a  Roman  army,  but  by  the  Roman 
Pontiff,  Pope  Leo  I,  who  unarmed,  came  out  to  meet 
the  ''Scourge  of  God,''  and  warn  him  away  from  the 
place  sacred  to  the  Saints  Peter  and  Paul ;  and  who 
indeed,  as  if  by  a  miracle,  thus  successfully  stayed 
the  devastation  and  saved  Rome. 

The  same  saintly  Bishop  of  Rome,  in  455,  met  out- 
side the  gates  of  the  city,  Genseric  the  Vandal, 
driven  from  Spain  by  the  Goths;  and  again  Leo 
saved  the  citizens  from  slaughter  and  the  captives 
from  torture;  though  he  could  not  prevent  the 
Vandal  hordes  from  wantonly  destroying  priceless 
works  of  art,  and  carrying  off  immense  riches  as 
well  as  60,000  captives,  to  their  new  kingdom  in 
Africa. 

Fall  of  the  Empire.  In  476,  came  the  end  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  Odoacer,  chief  of  the  Heruli, 
stripped  the  purple  off  the  young  Romulus  Augustus, 
and  overthrew  the  tottering  throne  of  the  Caesars. 
The  weakness  of  many  emperors,  the  fickle  despotism 
of  armies,  civil  wars  and  moral  enervation,  pre- 
pared the  empire  thus  to  fall  before  the  incursion  of 
the  barbarian  nations,  1229  yeai*s  after  the  founding 
of  the  city  and  507  years  after  the  first  emperor. 

After  the  fall  of  the  western  Empire,  Italy  was 
subject  to  the  successive  sway  of  the  Heruli,  Ostro- 
goths and  Lombards.  Africa  was  conquered  by  the 
Vandals.  North-western  Spain  fell  to  the  Suevi. 
The  Visigoths  subdued  the  rest  of  Spain  and  south- 
ern France.     The  Burgundians,  Alemanni,  Thurin- 


330         MIGEATION  AND  CONVERSION 

gians,  Saxons  and  Franks  divided  Germany  and 
Gaul.  Britain  was  seized  by  the  Angles,  Saxons, 
and  Jutes. 

The  Dark  Ages — ^In  these  centuries  of  migration, 
ruthless  barbarity  and  bloody  war  destroyed  most 
of  the  work  that  civilization  and  Christianity  had 
already  accomplished  in  Europe.  The  provincial 
towns  of  Speyer,  Mainz,  Strasburg  and  Rheims  were 
smoldering  ruins.  Treves  was  sacked  ^ve  times. 
The  buildings  of  the  imperial  government  and  of 
the  Christian  missions,  were  alike  wiped  away. 
Heaps  of  corpses  and  smoking  villages  traced  the 
course  of  march  and  counter-march.  "Whole  districts 
became  deserts,  inhabited  by  bears  and  wolves.  In 
the  far  north,  the  Saxon  invasion  passed  like  a  wave 
of  destruction  over  Britain.  The  irruptions  of 
Alaric,  Attila  and  Genseric  left  fair  Italy  a  ruin  in 
the  south. 

Gregory  the  Great.  Pope  Gregory  I  (590-604), 
whose  noble  personality  towers  as  a  redeeming 
glory  in  those  troublesome  times,  leaves  us  a  pitiful 
pen  picture  of  the  social  desolation  around  him. 
Among  millions  of  the  intruding  barbarians,  the 
crudest  useful  arts  and  sciences  were  unknown. 
Their  tribal  dialects  were  without  alphabet  or  litera- 
ture. Might  was  right.  Heathen  superstitions  took 
the  place  of  religion.  Drinking,  idleness  and  blood- 
shed were  the  occupation  of  life.  For  the  civiliza- 
tion of  these  nations  there  was  need  of  a  mighty 
organization  able  to  afford  sanction  and  security  and 
knowledge  and  justice.  And  the  one  political  power 
for  500  years,  had  crumbled  away  -before  them. 

72.     CONVERSION  OP  THE  NATIONS. 

While  the  empire  of  the  Cagsars  was  falling  to 
pieces,  the  Church  was  multiplying  its  numbers  and 


CONVERSION  OF  THE  NATIONS        331 

developing  its  organization.  When  the  barbarity 
and  heathenism  that  deluged  Europe  in  the  migra- 
tion of  nations,  called  for  a  power  able  to  bring  order 
out  of  chaos,  the  empire  had  passed  away.  The 
Church  remained.  She  was  the  only  institution  that 
might  be  looked  for,  to  cope  with  the  task.  The 
century  and  a  half  of  freedom  from  Constantine  the 
Great  to  the  young  Augustus,  was  for  the  Church  a 
golden  age  of  unlost  opportunity.  Councils  national 
and  provincial,  held  repeatedly  in  the  east  and  the 
west,  reveal  the  growth  of  the  Church  in  the  number 
of  Bishops.  The  general  council  held  at  Nice  A.  D. 
325,  was  attended  by  318  Bishops ;  that  of  Chalcedon 
A.  D.  451,  by  630.  The  names  of  Athanasius  (d. 
373),  Ambrose  (397),  Chrysostom  (407),  Jerome 
(420),  Augustine  (430),  Cyril  of  Alexandria  (444), 
Pope  Leo  the  Great  (461),  Pope  Gregory  the  Great 
(604), — the  greatest  men  of  the  age,  attest  the  genius 
that  illuminated  the  Christian  schools  and  adorned 
the  episcopal  thrones.  Their  union  with  the  Bishop 
of  Rome,  gave  to  the  Christian  forces  scattered 
throughout  the  world,  a  solidarity  and  influence 
which  made  a  spiritual  empire  indeed  of  the  King- 
dom of  God  on  earth.  When  the  crisis  came,  the 
Church  was  prepared  to  meet  it.  Holding  in  her 
hands  the  elements  of  our  civilization — the  in- 
heritance of  Greek  culture,  the  tradition  of  the  Ro- 
man genius  for  government,  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ — she  faced  the  barbarians.  She  was  the  one 
light  to  dispel  the  gloom  of  the  dark  ages.  For  cen- 
turies to  come,  her  missionaries  will  be  found  toiling 
among  our  rude  ancestors ;  teaching  them  agriculture 
and  trade  and  law  and  letters  as  well  as  faith  and 
piety.  "We  shall  notice  briefly  the  conversion  of  the 
nations  of  modern  Europe. 

Ireland.     Ireland  honors  as  her  great  Apostle,  St. 
Patrick.     In  432,  he,  with  assistant  missionaries,  was 


382         MIGRATION  AND  CONVERSION 

sent  by  Pope  Celestine  I,  to  bring  the  faith  to  the 
Scots,  as  the  Irish  were  then  called ;  ^  and  whose 
language  and  manners  Patrick  had  learned  while  a 
youthful  captive  in  their  land.  Patrick  was  edu- 
cated at  the  schools  of  St.  Martin  at  Tours  and  of 
Lerins  in, Gaul;  was  appointed  Bishop  at  Rome; 
and  approached  his  mission  with  every  advantage 
of  knowledge  and  piety.  His  success  is  unparalleled 
in  history.  In  about  fifty  years,  a  whole  nation  was 
won  over  from  Druidism  to  Christianity,  without  the 
shedding  of  a  drop  of  blood.  The  shamrock,  whose 
three-leaved  stem  Patrick  chanced  to  use  in  explain- 
ing the  mystery  of  the  Trinity,  remains  the  national 
emblem.  Patrick  lived  to  see  Ireland  converted  and 
planted  with  monasteries  of  fervent  men  and  women. 

Scotland.  St.  Columba,  or  Columbkille,  born  in 
Ireland  in  521,  is  the  Apostle  of  the  Caledonians  or 
Highlanders.  On  the  '* stone  of  destiny" — still  used 
in  the  coronation  of  English  rulers,  he  anointed 
Aidan  Fergus,  King  of  the  British  Scots.  At  his 
death  in  597,  he  left  Christianity  firmly  established 
in  the  Hebrides  and  northern  and  western  Scotland, 
with  his  disciple  St.  Machor,  Bishop  of  Aberdeen, 
and  his  monastery  on  the  Island  of  lona  a  fountain 
of  science  and  virtue. 

The  Lowland  Scots  or  Picts  had  for  their  first 
Apostle,  St.  Ninian,  a  Briton  consecrated  Bishop  at 
Rome  and  commissioned  to  Scotland  by  Pope  Siri- 
cius,  about  394.  His  successful  work  was  continued 
by  St.  Palladius,  once  the  deacon  of  Pope  Celestine, 
who  sent  to  the  Orkneys,  St.  Servanus.  His  disciple 
St.  Kentigren  evangelized  Cambria  and  founded  the 
Bishopric  of  Glasgow. 

England.  The  Angles,  Saxons  and  Jutes,  pagan 
tribes  of  North  Germany,  came  to  Britain  through 
the    appeal    of   the    natives    (449),   whose    country 

»Ven.  Bede. 


CONVERSION  OF  THE  NATIONS         333 

abandoned  by  the  Romans,  was  harassed  by  the  Picts 
and  Scots.  The  Teutons  repelled  the  Scottish  in- 
vaders, but  only  to  retain  Britain  as  their  own  per- 
manent home.  The  native  Britons  were  either  slain 
or  driven  from  their  country,  some  across  the  channel 
to  become  the  Bretons  of  northern  France,  others 
into  the  mountain  recesses  of  Wales. 

Native  Britons.  Before  the  Teuton  invasion, 
Christianity  had  made  some  headway  among  the  old 
native  Britons,  through  the  Roman  influences.  St. 
Alban  was  martyred  on  the  island,  A.  D.  303,  by  the 
agents  of  Diocletian.  While  the  idea  that  Peter  or 
Paul  planted  the  faith  in  Britain  is  quite  unsup- 
ported by  history.  Venerable  Bede  states,^  that  as  far 
back  as  the  second  century,  missionaries  \yere  sent 
thither  by  Pope  Eleutherius  (177-192)  at  the  request 
of  the  British  Chieftain  Lucius.  The  Myvyrian 
Archaeology  of  Wales  names  these  missionaries  as 
Elvan,  Fagan,  Medwin  and  Damian.  Near  Llandoff 
are  four  churches  named  for  the  chief  Lucius  or 
Llearwig,  Dyfan,  Ffagan,  and  Medwy.^  The  pres- 
ence of  British  bishops  at  the  Councils  of  Aries  in 
314,  Sardica  in  347,  and  Rimini  in  359,  shows  the 
Catholicity  of  the  Church  in  Britain,  in  its  union 
with  the  Church  on  the  continent.  Pope  Celestine  I 
in  429,  as  we  learn  from  his  secretary,  Prosper  of 
Gaul,  commissioned  St.  Germanus  of  Auxerre  and 
St.  Lupus  of  Troyes  to  their  successful  task  of  pro- 
tecting the  Church  in  Britain  from  the  heresy  of 
Pelagius.  When  these  old  Britons  were  despoiled 
of  their  fatherland  by  the  Teutons,  they  took  their 
faith  with  them  into  the  land  of  exile:  Bretagne  re- 
maining conspicuously  faithful  to  this  day ;  and 
Wales  honoring  as  its  Patron,  St.  David,  its  Bishop 
of  Menevia  who  died  A.  D.  601.* 

'History,  Bk.  I,  Ch.  4. 

»  Rees'   Welsh   Saints,  p.   84. 

*  Annals   Cambria. 


334         MIGRATION  AND  CONVERSION 

The  Anglo-Saxons.  Meanwhile  Hengist  and 
Horsa,  at  the  head  of  the  piratical  Teutons,  set  up 
their  kingdom  of  Kent.  Every  trace  of  Christianity 
and  Roman  or  Celtic  institutions  became  extinct. 
For  the  next  century  and  a  half,  the  Anglo-Saxons 
retained  their  heathen  religion.  England  as  we 
know  it  to-day,  owes  its  Christianity  to  the  zeal  of 
Pope  Gregory  the  Great  and  his  missionaries.  Be- 
fore his  election  to  the  Papacy,  Gregory  one  day  saw 
in  Rome  a  number  of  fair-haired  and  blue-eyed  chil- 
dren, who,  he  was  told,  were  Angles.  Captivated  by 
their  innocence  and  beauty,  the  tender-hearted  priest 
exclaimed,  "Angles,  indeed  they  seem  more  like 
Angels ! ' '  When  he  learned  that  they  were  without 
baptism  or  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  he  conceived  an 
intense  desire  to  evangelize  this  promising  race. 
Prevented  by  his  election  to  the  Papacy,  from  going 
himself  to  England,  Gregory  sent  Augustine  with 
thirty-nine  Benedictine  monks,  in  596,  to  lead  the 
Anglo-Saxons  out  of  heathenism  into  the  fold  of 
Christ. 

So  great  was  his  success  that  ^ve  years  later, 
Augustine  who  had  been  made  Bishop  by  Gregory, 
was  authorized  to  found  twelve  suffragan  bishoprics 
to  his  own  metropolitan  See  of  Canterbury  in  Kent, 
The  East  Saxons  with  their  king,  Soberet,  were  con- 
verted by  St.  Mellitus,  a  companion  of  Augustine, 
who  in  604,  became  first  Bishop  of  London.  St. 
Paulinus,  the  first  Archbishop  of  York,  baptized 
(627)  King  Edwin  of  Northumbria  and  many  of  his 
subjects,  whose  conversion  was  completed  by  St. 
Aidan  of  lona,  under  King  Oswald.  East  Anglia, 
whose  king  Copwalk  embraced  Christianity  in  627, 
was  evangelized  by  the  Burgundian  Bishop  Felix. 
St.  Birinus  sent  by  Pope  Honorius,  was  the  Apostle 
of  Wessex  and  baptized  King  Cynegils  at  Dorchester 
in  635.     The  conversion  of  the  Kingdom  of  Mercia 


CONVERSION  OF  THE  NATIONS         ;i3.0 

began  in  655.  Sussex  received  the  faith  about  680, 
through  St.  Wilfred. 

Ranke  in  the  first  chapter  of  his  History  of  the 
Popes  thus  speaks  of  the  conversion  of  the  English 
nation. 

*^It  chanced  that  certain  Anglo-Saxons,  being  ex- 
posed for  sale  in  the  slave  market  of  Rome,  attracted 
the  attention  of  Pope  Gregory  the  Great;  he  at  once 
resolved  that  Christianity  should  be  preached  to  the 
nation  whence  these  beautiful  captives  had  been 
taken.  Never,  perhaps,  was  resolution  adopted  by 
any  Pope  whence  results  more  important  ensued. 
Together  with  the  doctrine  of  Christianity,  a  venera- 
tion for  Rome  and  for  the  Holy  See,  .such  as  had 
never  existed  before  in  any  nation,  found  place 
among  the  Germanic  Britons.  The  Anglo-Saxons 
began  to  make  pilgrimages  to  Rome ;  they  sent  their 
youths  thither  to  be  educated ;  and  King  Offa  estab- 
lished the  tax  called  *St.  Peter's  Pence'  for  the  re- 
lief of  pilgrims  and  the  education  of  the  Clergy. '' 

To  Wilfred,  one  of  the  disciples  of  the  Celtic  St. 
Aidan,  is  due  the  settling  of  the  controversy  between 
the  old  Welsh  bishops  and  their  new  Anglo-Saxon 
brothers,  about  the  calculation  of  Eastern  day. 
Both  sides  saw  the  wisdom  of  union  even  in  this 
matter  of  mere  discipline:  and  at  Whitby,  in  664, 
agreed  that  the  local  custom  should  give  way  to  the 
Roman  calendar  used  not  only  by  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
but  by  the  universal  church.  King  Oswy  argued 
that  Rome  represented  the  first  Apostle,  St.  Peter, 
*'that  doorkeeper  whom  I  will  not  contradict,  lest 
when  I  come  to  the  doors  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven,  there  will  be  none  to  unbar  them.''  ^  Thus 
within  a  century  of  the  landing  of  Augustine,  the 
whole  Anglo-Saxon  Heptarchy  was  brought  into  the 
fold  of  Christ. 

»Bede  Hist.  Bk.  Ill,  Ch.  25. 


336         MIGRATION  AND  CONVERSION 

The  Franks.  Clovis,  King  of  the  Franks,  was  bap- 
tized  with  3,000  of  his  followers  and  their  families  on 
Christmas,  A.  D.  496,  by  St.  Remigius  at  Rheims. 
Like  another  Constantine,  Clovis  vowed  on  the  eve 
of  the  battle  of  Zuelpich,  to  embrace  the  religion  of 
his  Burgundian  wife  Clotilda,  if  Christ  gave  him  vic- 
tory over  the  Alemanni.  Thus  began  the  conversion 
of  the  ''eldest  daughter  of  the  Church/'  But 
though  the  Merovingian  kings  and  their  followers 
adopted  Christianity,  they  did  not  at  once  cease  to 
be  barbarians.  Only  gradually  did  the  Church  suc- 
ceed in  taming  their  wild  passions,  and  that  mostly 
through  Irish  monks  under  St.  Columbanus. 

Germany.  The  great  Apostle  of  Germany  is  ^in- 
frid,  better  known  as  Boniface,  who  left  his  native 
England  in  716,  to  share  in  the  evangelization  of  the 
unconverted  German  tribes.  At  Rome,  he  obtained 
from  Pope  Gregory  II,  an  apostolic  mission  to  all 
northern  Germany;  and  on  a  second  visit  in  723, 
consecration  as  Bishop  and  the  name  Boniface.  At 
Geismer  he  felled  with  his  own  hands,  the  Thunder- 
ing Oak  sacred  to  the  god  Thor.  After  thirty-nine 
years  of  apostolic  toil,  he  was  martyred  (755)  by  the 
pagan  Frisians.  But  he  had  lived  to  sec  most  of  the 
tribes  converted ;  to  do  signal  service  for  Church  and 
State ;  to  crown  Pepin  the  Short,  King  of  the  Franks ; 
and  to  found  many  monasteries  and  bishoprics  des- 
tined to  carry  on  his  work. 

Other  missionaries  among  the  Teutons  whose 
memory  is  blessed  by  a  grateful  posterity,  were  St. 
Fridolin  among  the  Alemanni;  SS.  Columbanus  and 
Gall  among  the  Swiss;  St.  Valentine  in  the  Tyrol; 
St.  Severinus  in  Austria ;  St.  Rupert  in  Bavaria ;  SS. 
Colman  and  Kilian  in  Franconia ;  SS.  Goar  and  Dysi- 
bod  on  the  Rhine ;  SS.  Amand  and  Omer  in  Belgium; 
St.  Willibrord  in  Holland ;  St.  Willehad,  who  finally 
converted  the  Saxons  and  founded  Bremen,  after 


CONVERSION  OP  THE  NATIONS         :;;}? 

seeing  his  work  repeatedly  destroyed  and  his  com- 
panions massacred. 

Scandinavia.  The  Norsemen  learned  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion  through  their  piratical  excursions  to 
foreign  shores;  and  Denmark  and  Sweden  received 
the  faith  through  Anschar,  Bishop  of  Hamburg  and 
Bremen,  w^ho  died  in  847,  after  an  apostolate  of  34 
years.  But  the  Church  was  firmly  established  in 
Norway  through  the  efforts  of  its  royal  saint,  King 
Olaf  II  (1019-1033) ;  and  in  Denmark  through  King 
Canute  the  Martyr.  Christianity  was  adopted  by 
the  popular  assembly  in  Iceland,  A.  D.  1000 ;  priests 
having  been  brought  thither  by  Leif  Ericson,  who 
was  converted  in  Norway  by  Olaf  I.  Leif  brought 
priests  to  Greenland,  which  had  been  discovered  by 
his  father,  Eric  the  Red,  in  982  and  planted  with 
colonies  of  Northmen;  and  to  Yinland,  discovered  by 
himself  about  1001,  and  now  known  to  be  the  North 
American  coastland.  The  greatest  of  Leif*s  Norse 
missionaries  w^as  an  Eric  Gnupsson,  who  was  ap- 
pointed Bishop  of  Greenland  and  Vinland  in  1112, 
and  was  thus  the  first  American  bishop.  The 
Church  continued  to  flourish  in  Greenland  for  300 
years,  but  the  Norse  settlements  were  finally  wiped 
away  by  the  Eskimos.  The  conversion  of  the  war- 
like seafaring  Northmen  was  of  great  importance  for 
the  peace  and  civilization  of  the  rest  of  Europe. 

The  Slavs.  The  brothers  Cyril  and  Methodius  are 
honored  as  the  great  Apostles  of  the  Slav  nations 
w^hich  possessed  themselves  of  eastern  Europe  in 
the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries,  and  whose  myriad 
children  flock  to  America  to-day.  St.  Cyril  invented 
an  alphabet  for  the  Slav  language,  as  Bishop  Ulfilas 
had  invented  the  Gothic  alphabet.  Cyril  and  Meth- 
odius made  a  translation  into  the  Slavonian  tongue 
of  the  Bible,  as  well  as  the  liturgy  of  tRe  Mass, 
which  is  used  to  this  day  both  by  many  ' '  orthodox  * ' 


338         MIGRATION  AND  CONVEKSION 

and  uniate  Slavs.^  This  use  of  the  vernacular  in  the 
Mass,  when  called  into  question  by  the  Germans  and 
reported  to  Rome,  was  sanctioned  by  Pope  Hadrian 
II.  and  his  successors.  The  saintly  brothers  who 
had  come  to  Rome  in  the  matter,  were  both  raised 
to  the  episcopal  dignity.  Cyril  died  in  Rome  in 
869,  while  Methodius  continued  his  labors  till  his 
death  in  885.  These  saints  worked  especially  among 
the  Moravians,  Bulgarians  and  Boheipians.  Poland 
was  christianized  through  Bohemia  in  967. 

Other  Nations.  The  Croatians  and  Servians  were 
converted  by  Roman  missionaries  about  700.  Rus- 
sia received  the  faith  through  missionaries  from 
Constantinople  during  the  tenth  century.  The  Mag- 
yars, a  warlike  Finnish  tribe,  migrated  about  890 
from  Asia.  For  more  than  half  a  century  they  were 
the  terror  of  all  Europe,  and  devastated  Germany, 
France  and  Italy,  till  their  captives  were  almost  as 
numerous  as  their  tribesmen.  They  were  gradually 
subdued  by  Christianity  which  was  finally  founded 
among  them  through  their  patron,  St.  Stephen  (997- 
1038).  They  settled  in  Hungary,  where  their  valor 
was  arrayed  as  a  future  outguard  of  the  Christian 
Empire  against  the  Mohammedan  Turks. 

*  Schismatic  Greeks,  Slavs  of  Russia,  etc.,  call  themselves  "Orthodox." 
These  united  with  Rome  are  called  "Uniate." 


CHAPTER  XX 

73.    THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN 
EMPIRE. 

On  Christmas  clay  in  the  year  800,  the  great 
Frankish  King  Charlemagne  was  crowned  Em- 
peror of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  in  St.  Peter's 
Church  at  Rome,  by  Pope  Leo  III.  Thus  arose, 
through  a  series  of  providential  circumstances,  a 
power,  old  in  name,  but  new  in  meaning,  which  un- 
der many  vicissitudes  was  to  be  the  political  center 
of  Europe,  for  the  next  thousand  years.  The  new 
Christian  Empire  was  for  the  federation  of  the 
princes  of  Europe,  for  the  promotion  of  peace  and 
civilization.  It  was  to  consolidate  the  best  results 
of  the  migration  of  nations  and  to  weld  its  many  dis- 
cordant elements  into  a  strong  Christian  union. 
The  Holy  Roman  Empire  came  as  the  culmination  of 
generations  of  toil  on  the  part  of  the  Church,  in 
teaching  the  barbarous  and  warring  tribes,  the  prin- 
ciples of  society,  the  art  of  government  and  the 
wisdom  of  union.  It  marks  the  progress  of  the  new 
nations  since  the  fall  of  the  ancient  empire,  324  years 
before:  and  the  transition  to  the  second  period  of 
the  Middle  Ages.  We  emerge  from  the  Dark  Ages 
into  the  Ages  of  Faith. 

Its  Significance.  The  new  empire  was  the  creation 
of  Pope  Leo  III,  in  conferring  upon  Charlemagne 
the  protectorate  of  the  Universal  Church  and  the 
guardianship  of  public  morals.  It  gave  Charles  no 
new  territorial  power  but  a  supremacy  of  dignity 
among. the  other  princes.     The  office  was  not  heredi- 

339 


340       CHURCH  AND  CHRISTIAN  EMPIRE 

tary.  The  emperor  was  the  president,  so  to  say,  in 
a  senate  of  Christian  sovereigns.  Upon  him,  in  a 
special  way,  devolved  the  duty  to  act  as  the  pro- 
tector of  the  wronged,  the  vindicator  of  public  jus- 
tice and  the  peace-maker  among  the  Christian  rulers. 
The  creation  of  the  empire  by  the  free  act  and  sanc- 
tioning influence  of  the  Pope,  evidences  the  activity 
of  the  Church  in  everything  that  made  for  the  good 
and  peace  of  the  great  Christian  family,  weaving 
Christian  principles  into  the  whole  fabric  of  the  do- 
mestic and  national  life  and  causing  the  successor 
of  St.  Peter  to  be  hailed,  in  every  way,  the  Father  of 
Christendom. 

Church  and  State.  In  the  nature  of  things,  the 
Church  and  State  in  the  Middle  Ages  were  bound  to 
be  intimately  related.  The  nations  were  being  con- 
verted from  paganism  to  Christianity  and  the 
Church  was  the  embodiment  of  that  religion.  In 
their  paganism  the  Teutonic  nobles  had  shared  the 
priesthood.  Now  the  Christiai^  Bishops  ranked  with 
the  secular  nobles.  Moreover  as  they  struggled  out 
of  barbarism,  men  discovered  on  every  hand,  the 
need  and  value  of  learning;  and  the  Church  was 
their  one  teacher.  The  youths  who  could  realize 
that  the  pen  was  at  least  as  noble  as  the  sword,  and 
that  conquest  of  self  in  painful  study,  was  as  hon- 
orable a  victory  as  the  slaughter  of  others,  were 
drawn  to  the  monastic  schools  and  became  priests 
and  bishops.  By  their  superior  knowledge  they  ob- 
tained a  guiding  influence  in  legislation,  and  infused 
into  it  the  Christian  spirit  of  mercy  and  brother- 
hood. 

Ecclesiastics,  who  spent  their  time  in  study  and 
the  contemplation  of  things  human  and  divine, 
seemed  as  well  qualified  to  administer  justice  intel- 
ligently and  impartially  as  those  who  had  passed 
their  lives  in  the  profession  of  arms.     In  Spain,  King 


CHUKCii  AND  CHKliSTiAX  EMPIRE       ^^41 

Reccared  commanded  the  secular  judges  to  attend 
the  ecclesiastical  synods,  in  order  that  they  might 
learn  the  law ;  while  he  instructed  bishops  to  watch 
over  the  administration  of  justice.  Similar  pro- 
visions were  made  in  the  Prankish  kingdom.  Speak- 
ing of  the  relation  of  Charlemagne  and  his  people 
to  the  Holy  See,  even  Voltaire  says:  "If  at  this 
time  the  Kingdom  of  Charlemagne  alone  possessed 
some  measure  of  culture,  this  is  probably  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  fact  that  the  emperor  had  made  a 
journey  to  Rome." 

Mutual  Recognition  of  Rights.  This  cooperation 
of  the  Catholic  Church  and  the  federation  of  Chris- 
tian States,  was,  amid  the  circumstances  of  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  as  practical  as  it  was  inevitable.  It  proved 
as  helpful  to  the  one  side  as.to  the  other.  Without  it, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  problems  of  those  times 
would  have  been  worked  out.  Pope  and  Emperor 
were  to  work  in  harmony  in  parallel  lines  of  action. 
The  Church  in  things  spiritual,  the  State  in  things 
temporal,  were  distinct,  supreme  and  independent. 
The  State  assisted  with  its  influence,  the  activities  of 
the  Church.  The  Church  supported  the  State  in  its 
legitimate  sphere.  By  their  mutual  homage  they  re- 
ciprocally^, recognized  and  agreed  to  respect  each 
other's  rights  in  their  great  work  of  leading  mankind 
to  its  appointed  destiny. 

Henry  IV  and  Gregory  VII.  While  this  plan  was 
ideal  indeed,  there  were  plenty  of  occasions,  in  the 
development  of  the  free,  healthy  and  virile  young 
nations,  for  contention  between  the  two  powers. 
Ambitious  princes  whose  w^ild  blood  had  been  little 
cooled  by  the  waters  of  Baptism,  w^ere  ever  ready 
to  override  the  rights  of  the  Church,  and  mistaking 
dictation  for  protection,  to  thrust  into  its  episcopal 
sees  their  own  unworthy  creatures.  Kings  itching 
for  the  gold  of  simony  or  anxious  to  control  the 


342       CHURCH  AND  CHRISTIAN  EMPIRE 

Church,  abused  the  privilege  of  investiture  which 
the  Popes  were  thus  obliged  to  withdraw  from  them 
at  whatever  cost.  Such  princes,  as  in  the  case  of 
Henry  IV,  were  sometimes  brought  to  Canossa  by 
intrepid  pontiffs  like  Gregory  VII. 

Anti-Popes  and  Intruders.  Again  political  in- 
triguers and  powerful  lords,  Christian  only  in  name, 
took  advantage  of  troublesome  times  to  lay  violent 
hands  not  only  on  richly  endowed  abbeys  and  bish- 
oprics, which  they  seized  for  their  younger  sons,  but 
even  upon  the  Papacy  itself.  More  than  once  the 
favorites  of  ruthless  monarchs,  in  the  day  of  their 
short-lived  power,  usurped  the  defenseless  throne  of 
Peter ;  or  as  anti-popes,  contested  the  supremacy  and 
stood  ready  to  divide  the  obedience  of  Christendom 
and  rend  the  body  of  Christ. 

Thus  in  the  iron  age  of  the  ninth  century,  when 
Saracens  and  Hungarians  overran  Italy,  and  Chris- 
tian princes  enslaved  instead  of  protecting  the  Pope, 
the  party  of  Duke  Lambert  of  Spoleto  thrust  upon 
the  papal  chair  its  first  unworthy  incumbent,  Stephen 
VII,  who  unearthed  and  outraged  the  body  of 
his  predecessor,  Formosus.  The  indignant  people 
dragged  the  intruder  from  his  throne  to  a  wretched 
death.  A  typical  Anti-Pope  was  Wilbej^  of  Ra- 
venna, who  called  himself  Clement  III.  A  subservi- 
ent politician  who  was  appointed  to  his  meaningless 
office  by  the  Emperor  Henry,  after  that  monarch  had 
gone  through  the  impotent  farce  of  deposing  the 
great  Hildebrand;  Wilbert  was  forgotten  with  the 
failure  of  his  master's  schemes.  While  usurpers  of 
the  Papacy  were  few,  those  of  abbeys  and  sees  were 
numerous.  The  scandals  of  occasional  intruders  are 
not  to  the  shame  of  the  Church,  which  in  such  cir- 
cumstances deserves  only  our  sympathy ;  as  the  good 
majority  who  carried  it  through  the  crisis,  merit  our 
admiration.     In  spite  of  not  infrequent  friction,  the 


CHURCH  AND  CHRISTIAN  EMPIRE       343 

Church  and  State  went  on  in  their  work,  and  their 
relations  were  on  the  whole,  useful  and  proper,  as 
they  were  inevitable. 

Torch-bearers.  It  is  a  §reat  principle  which  must 
be  kept  in  mind  in  reading  history,  that  while  the 
Church  is  ever  the  same  divine  society  in  her  doctrine 
and  constitution,  her  posts  are  manned  anew  in  each 
generation  by  the  men  of  that  generation,  subject  to 
the  influences  and  limitations  of  their  times.  In  the 
light  of  this  principle,  we  wonder  only  that  there 
were  so  many  heroes  and  saints  among  the  Christian 
torch-bearers  of  that  unfolding  epoch.  If  conflicts 
of  kings  often  raged  around  the  papal  throne,  it  was 
because  the  Popes  generally  realized  the  responsibil- 
ity of  their  office.  The  spiritual  authority  of  the 
Christian  religion,  embodied  in  the  Popes,  exemplified 
to  barbarian  chiefs  that  there  is  a  higher  law  than 
the  law  of  might.  It  represented  God,  whose  attri- 
butes it  held  up  as  the  measure  of  right;  whose  in- 
finite majesty  is  no  respecter  of  persons ;  whose  jus- 
tice rewards  or  punishes  the  most  hidden  movements 
of  the  soul. 

"It  is  doubtlessly  true  to  say,''  writes  the  illustri- 
ous Herder,  *  ^  that  the  Roman  hierarchy  was  a  neces- 
sary power,  without  which  there  would  have  been 
no  check  upon  the  untutored  nations  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  Without  it,  Europe  would  have  become  the 
theater  of  interminable  conflict  and  have  been  con- 
verted into  a  Mongolian  desert.'*  **In  those  *dark' 
ages,''  says  Coquerel,  "we  see  no  example  of  tyranny 
comparable  to  that  of  the  Domitians.  A  Tiberius 
was  impossible  then.  Rome  would  have  crushed  him. 
Great  despotisms  exist  when  kings  believe  that  there 
is  nothing  above  themselves."  And  Guizot  adds: 
"When  a  pope  or  bishop  proclaimed  that  a  sovereign 
had  lost  his  rights,  that  his  subjects  were  released 
from  their  oath  of  fidelity,  this  interference  was  often 


344       CHURCH  AND  CHRISTIAN  EMPIRE 

in  the  case  to  which  it  was  directed,  just  and  salu- 
tary. It  generally  holds  that  where  liberty  is  want- 
ing, religion  in  a  great  rneasure  supplies  its  place. 
In  the  tenth  century,  the  oppressed  nations  were 
not  in  a  state  to  protect  themselves  or  to  defend  their 
rights  against  civil  violence.  Religion  in  the  name 
of  Heaven,  placed  itself  between  them.'' 


CHAPTER  XXI 
74.    TEMPORAL  POWER  OF  THE  POPES. 

The  influence  of  the  papacy  as  the  family  center 
and  peace  tribunal  of  Christendom  in  the  middle 
ages,  must  not  be  confused  with  the  political  sover- 
eignty of  the  Popes  over  the  city  and  neighborhood 
of  Rome.  This  latter  is  known  as  the  temporal 
power  of  the  Pope,  as  distinguished  from  his  spirit- 
ual pastorate  of  the  universal  Church.  The  origin 
of  the  temporal  power  is  to  be  sought  in  the  social 
and  political  upheavals  consequent  to  the  fall  of  the 
ancient  empire  and  the  migration  of  the  barbarous 
nations.  For  more  than  a  thousand  years  this  sover- 
eignty over  the  nominal  kingdom  of  little  more  than 
a  city,  was  exercised  by  the  Popes,  and  came  to  have 
great  international  and  religious  significance.  It 
ceased  for  the  time  being  at  least,  with  the  invasion 
of  the  Eternal  City  in  1870,  by  Garabaldi  and  the 
troops  of  the  Piedmont  King,  Victor  Emmanuel. 

Origin.  The  temporal  sovereignty  was  a  natural 
result  of  the  circumstances  of  the  times.  It  was  not 
founded  on  any  particular  action  of  the  Popes,  but 
arose  from  the  conditions  which  compelled  them  to 
be,  what  the  emperors  would  not  and  could  not  be, 
the  protector  of  the  people  in  times  of  extraordinary 
distress.  The  granting  of  many  legal  powers  to 
the  Popes  by  Constantine  and  subsequent  emperors, 
such  as  authority  to  free  slaves,  to  act  as  legal  arbi- 
ter and  judge  in  trials,  to  administer  the  poor  laws, 
etc.,  accustomed  the  Roman  people  to  see  in  the 

345 


346       TEMPORAL  POWER  OF  THE  POPES 

Popes  the  best  protectors  of  their  temporal  interests. 
Much  land  had  in  the  course  of  time  been  entrusted 
to  the  Popes,  as  endowments  for  churches  and  char- 
itable institutions.  The  wise  use  of  this  Patrimony 
of  St.  Peter  and  the  generous  care  of  the  coloni  or 
cultivators  who  were  attached  to  it,  were  a  preparing 
cause.  The  Romans  remembered,  too,  that  the  Pope, 
who  was  one  of  themselves,  had  more  than  once 
saved  the  city  from  savage  devastation.  When  the 
empire  crumbled  to  pieces  before  the  barbarians,  the 
last  of  the  Caesars  was  deposed  by  the  invading 
Heruli  (476),  who  in  turn  were  soon  to  be  slain  and 
supplanted  (490)  by  the  200,000  warriors  of  the  Os- 
trogoths, who  again  would  be  followed  by  the  Lom- 
bards. The  Romans  more  and  more  gathered  around 
the  Pope,  whose  position  as  head  of  all  the  Chris- 
tian churches  in  the  world,  raised  him  to  an  influence 
which  must  be  useful  to  them  abroad  as  it  was  ap- 
preciated by  them  at  home.  But  the  Pope  was  not 
yet  the  formal  King  of  Rome. 

Donation  of  Pepin.  In  533,  Justinian  I,  Emperor 
of  Constantinople,  sent  his  general,  Narses,  to  defeat 
the  Ostrogoths.  Central  Italy  was  made  a  depend- 
ence of  the  eastern  empire,  whose  Exarch  resided  at 
Ravenna.  But  the  distant  master's  hold  on  Italy 
was  weak.  The  Lombards  poured  down  from  the 
Alps  and  seized  one  portion  after  another  of  the  Ex- 
archate. Their  l^ng,  Astolf,  was  threatening  Rome, 
taking  towns  and  cities  as  he  came.  The  impotent 
eastern  Exarch  had  fled.  The  Byzantine  power  in 
Italy  was  extinct.  Yet  Pope  Stephen,  with  the  loy- 
alty the  Popes  had  always  shown  even  to  the  worst 
emperors,  ^sent  message  after  message  to  Constantine 
V,  asking  protection  for  Rome.  Neither  armies  nor 
answer  came.  As  a  last  resort,  Stephen  called  upon 
Pepin  the  Short,  King  of  Gaul  and  son  of  Charles 
Martel.    Pepin  restrained  the  Lombards,  instituted 


TEMPORAL  POWER  OF  POPES  347 

order  and  laid  on  the  tomb  of  St.  Peter,  the  keys  of 
Rome,  with  the  document  establishing  the  Pope  as 
the  sovereign  of  the  eternal  city,  A.  D.  756. 

Significance.  .  The  temporal  power,  begun  in  what 
seemed  the  accidents  of  the  fifth  century,  was  a 
providence  destined  to  concern  a  larger  world  than 
central  Italy.  It  left  the  Popes  free  from  the  control 
of  any  one  government.  As  a  convenience,  not  to 
say  absolute  necessity,  to  the  Primate  of  a  Church 
which  is  Catholic  and  international  or  rather  super- 
national,  it  has  its  counterpart  in  our  own  District 
of  Columbia.  As  Washington  gives  to  the  federal 
government  a  home  where  it  is  outside  of  the  control 
of  any  single  state  and  so  free  to  work  impartially 
for  all,  so  Rome  as  the  city  of  the  Popes,  gave  the 
Church  freedom  to  deal  with  her  spiritual  children 
in  every  country.  The  papal  dynasty  begun  in  the 
middle  of  the  eighth  century,  continued  with  many 
an  interruption  through  invading  foe,  till  our  own 
day.  Without  the  Popes,  Rome  might  be  no  more  to- 
day than  Antioch  or  Jerusalem,  its  monuments  in 
ruins,  its  visitors  a  memory. 

Gibbon^  defends- the  temporal  dominion  of  the 
Popes  and  considers  their  title  the  free  choice  of  a 
people  whom  they  had  redeemed  from  slavery. 

Ranke  writes:-  ''There  is  also,  as  it  appears  to 
me,  an  inconsistency  in  the  fact  that  the  Pope  should 
exercise  on  all  sides  the  supreme  spiritual  power 
and  yet  remain  himself  subjected  to  the  emperor. 
There  needed  but  a  certain  complication  of  political 
affairs,  and  the  Pope  might  have  been  prevented,  by 
his  subordination  to  the  emperor,  from  performing 
the  duties  imposed  on  him  by  his  office  as  common 
father  of  the  faithful." 

Prisoner  of  Vatican.  Since  1870,  the  Popes  have 
maintained  independence  from  undue  meddling  with 

1  "Decline  and  Fall."  Cin.   1859,  Vol.  II.,  Ch.  10. 
'  "History  of  the  Popes,"  Ch.  1. 


348       TEMPORAL  POWER  OF  THE  POPES 

the  affairs  of  the  Church  through  the  world,  by  pre- 
serving at  least  the  principle  of  sovereignty,  in  their 
continued  protest.  The  new  Italian  government 
seems  to  acknowledge  the  papal  rights  even  while  de- 
spoiling them,  by  its  **law  of  extra-territoriality*' 
in  favor  of  the  Vatican,  the  Cathedral  and  the  Chan- 
cery, and  by  the  guaranteeing  to  the  Pontiff  the 
immunities  and  respect  proper  to  a  Sovereign. 
Meantime,  the  prisoner  of  the  Vatican,  with  soul  un- 
conquered,  governs  the  Universal  Church  and  waits 
for  the  unfolding  of  history. 


^ 


CHAPTER  XXII 
75.    THE  CRUSADES. 

With  the  rise  of  Mohammedanism  in  622,  came  a 
menace  to  the  Christian  religion  and  to  the  civiliza- 
tion that  was  being  developed  upon  its  foundations, 
v^hich  hung  over  Europe  for  centuries  to  come.  The 
fanatics  of  Islam  swept  over  the  provinces  of  Asia 
and  northern  Africa  like  a  withering  flame.  With 
fire  and  sword  the  new  superstition  was  propagated 
in  regions  that  had  witnessed  the  labors  of  the 
Apostles  and  boasted  of  the  glories  of  the  early- 
Church.  Many  Christians  were  perverted  through 
terror  or  seduced  by  the  sensual  pleasures  of  the 
new  faith.  More  remained  faithful  to  Christ,  only 
to  be  massacred,  or  enslaved  for  the  harem,  the  gal- 
leys or  the  ranks  of  the  Janissaries.  Later  Moham- 
medanism would  luring  to  the  forces  of  the  Semitic 
Saracens,  the  terrible  might  of  the  Turks.  The 
struggle  of  Europe  for  its  civilization  and  religion 
against  the  Mussulman  aggression,  did  much  to  shape 
the  Middle  Ages  and  justify  the  wisdom  of  the  fed- 
eration of  its  princes  in  union  with  the  Popes. 

Mahomet  was  born  in  Arabia  in  569.  His  fol- 
lowers called  themselves  Islam,  submission  to  God; 
or  Moslem  or  Mussulmans,  dedicated  to  God.  The 
Turks  were  first  the  subjects,  then  the  soldiers,  and 
finally  the  masters  of  the  Saracens.  They  adopted 
Islam  as  their  faith,  giving  as  it  did,  religious  sanc- 
tion to  their  passions,  ferocity  and  greed.    The  Arabs 

349 


350  THE  CRUSADES 

or  Saracens  were  called  Moors  by  the  Spaniards, 
because  they  came  over  from  Mauretania,  the  modern 
Morocco. 

Saracens  in  Spain.  From  the  conquest  of  north- 
■^ern  Africa,  the  Saracens  crossed  to  Spain,  A.  D. 
711,  under  Tarik,  landing  at  the  rock  Gibraltar, 
which  has  since  borne  his  name  (Gabel  Tarik).  The 
Spaniards  were  driven  to  the  mountains  of  Asturia 
or  enslaved  under  Moslem  rule.  At  once  the  rem- 
nants of  their  race  began  the  unremitting  war  in  de- 
fense of  their  home,  which  lasted  almost  800  years, 
till  full  success  crowned  their  heroic  efforts  with  the 
expulsion  of  the  Moors  from  Spain  after  the  fall  of 
Granada,  A.  D.  1492,  under  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 
In  these  events  are  to  be  found  the  origin  of  the  Span" 
ish  Inquisition.^ 

Battle  of  Tours.  France  was  next  invaded  by  the 
Saracens.  Between  Tours  and  Poitiers  (732) 
Charles  Martel  led  the  united  Christian  forces 
against  Abderame,  who  with  400,000  followers  had 
devastated  the  thousand  miles  from  the  Rock  of  Gib- 
raltar to  the  river  Loire.  Here  in  a  battle  lasting 
nine  days,  the  Aryan  race  triumphed  over  the  in- 
vading Semitic,  as  on  the  Catalaunian  Fields  they 

^  The  Spanish  Inquisition,  instituted  in  l4»0,  under  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  primarily  to  control  the  "Christian"  Jews  and  Moors, — whose 
conversion  was  often  only  a  pretense  to  enable  them  to  remain  in  Spain 
after  the  expulsion  of  the  alien  races — was  doubtless  looked  upon  by 
Spain,  at  the  time,  as  the  proper  and  necessary  method  of  attaining  a 
desired  result.  Ranke,  Guizot,  Menzel,  the  Britannica  and  the  Amer- 
ican Encyclopedia  regard  the  Inquisition  as  "more  political  than  re- 
ligious, and  destined  rather  for  the  maintenance  of  order  than  for  the 
defense  of  faith."  It  is  most  unjust  for  non-Catholic  writers  to  blame 
the  Catholic  Church  for  the  cruel  abuses  of  this  tribunal.  Sixtus  IV, 
Leo  X,  Paul  III,  Paul  IV,  and  other  Popes  raised  their  voices  in  pro- 
test against  those  abuses.  Catholics  have  nothing  but  condemnation  for 
them.  Non-Catholics  who  would  make  a  controversial  argument  of  the 
Spanish  Inquisition  should  reflect  that  the  worst  cruelties  of  the  Spanish 
court  were  repeated  by  the  English  Court  of  High  Commission  by  which, 
after  the  Reformation,  that  country  long  persecuted  its  Catholicf  subjects, 
not  as  traitors,  but  for  demanding  the  liberty  of  conscience  to  remain  in 
the  faith  of  their  fathers.  It  is  unfortunate  that  both  Llorente  and  Lea, 
the  historians  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition,  use  history,  not  as  the  torch 
of  truth  but  as  a  weapon  of  unjust  attack. 


THE  CRUSADERS  351 

had  triumphed  over  the  Turanians.  This  day  was 
really  the  beginning  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
though  it  was  the  grandson  ,of  Charles  Martel  who 
first  wore  its  crown. 

Saracens  at  Rome.  The  power  of  the  Saracens  in 
Europe  was  far  from  ended  by  the  Battle  of  Tours. 
A  century  later,  A.  D.  855,  Mussulman  armies  came 
up  to  the  walls  of  Rome  and  sacked  St.  Peter's.  The 
Eternal  City  still  bears  the  scars  of  their  fanatical 
destruction.  In  time  the  Mohammedan  Turks  be- 
came masters  of  Jerusalem  and  Constantinople  and 
returned  again  and  again  to  thunder  at  Vienna,  the 
eastern  door  of  Europe. 

Christian  Empire.  This  terrible  Moslem  power, 
for  centuries  fighting  for  the  possession  of  Europe, 
would  never  have  been  held  back,  without  that  fed- 
eration of  the  Christian  princes  under  the  Popes, 
uniting  all  the  forces  of  Europe  in  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire.  Rome,  instead  of  Constantinople,  might  be 
to-day  the  capital  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  and  the 
states  of  Europe  might  share  the  fate  of  the  once 
highly  civilized  and  Christian  provinces  of  the  East, 
where  now  the  cry  of  massacred  Armenians  and  of 
enslaved  and  outraged  womankind  falls  upon  merci- 
less ears.  Gibbon  well  says  that  instead  of  the  Bi- 
ble, '*  perhaps  the  interpretation  of  the  K(^an  would 
now  be  taught,  in  the  schools  of  Oxford,  and  her  pul- 
pits might  demonstrate  to  a  circumcised  people  the 
sanctity  and  truth  of  the  revelations  of  Mahomet.'*  ~ 

H.  M.  Dadourian  of  Yale  College,  estimates  the  re- 
cent massacres  of  Christians  by  Mohammedan  fanat- 
icism as  follows:  A.  D.  1822,  50,000  Greeks;  A.  D. 
1850,  10,000  Nestorians  and  Armenians ;  A.  D.  1860, 
11,000  Maronites  and  Syrians;  A.  D.  1876,  10,000 
Bulgarians ;  A.  D.  1894-96,  100,000  Armenians ;  A.  D. 
1909,  23,000  Armenians.     '*Only  a  native  of  Tur- 

8  "Decline  and  Fall,"  Vol.  2,  Ch.  13. 


352  THE  CRUSADES 

key,'*  he  says,  ''can  have  any  adequate  idea  of  the 
sufferings  which  the  helpless  Christians  had  to  en- 
dure during  the  intervals  between  massacres.'^  We 
may  trust  that  the  victorious  war  of  the  Balkan  al- 
lies (1912)  will  make  Turkish  misrule  no  longer  pos- 
sible in  even  the  farthest  corner  of  Europe. 

Crusades.  In  the  wars  with  the  threatening  hosts 
of  Mohammedanism,  which  developed  into  the  Cru- 
sades, the  Popes  were  ever  at  the  head  of  Christian 
Europe,  holding  together  the  leaders  and  encour- 
aging the  people.  The  eloquence  of  Pope  Urban  II 
at  Clermont  (1095),  endorsed  the  enthusiastic  "God 
wills  it,"  of  Peter  the  Hermit,  and  sent  Godfrey  de 
Bouillon  and  his  companions  to  the  relief  of -Jerusa- 
lem. When  the  Church  converted  and  the  Empire 
absorbed  the  fierce  Magyars,  w^ho  were  themselves 
long  a  terror  to  the  civilized  nations,  this  warlike 
people  were  thus  turned  into  the  valiant  defenders 
of  the  eastern  door  of  Europe.  Church  and  state  co- 
operated at  Belgrade  and  Vienna.  The  Cardinal  Ju- 
lian commanded  with  the  splendid  Hunyady,  the 
Christian  allies  that  routed  the  Turks  at  Sophia. 
Later  the  Polish  King  Sobieski  joined  the  forces  of 
his  personal  and  national  rival,  the  Emperor  Leo- 
pold of  Austria,  an  the  last  defense  of  Vienna,  only 
through  the  influence  of  the  papal  legate  and  as  a 
Christian  prince.  To  the  foresight  and  energy  of 
Pope  Pius  V,  was  due  the  supreme  victory  of  the 
Christians  over  the  Turks  at  Lepanto,  A.  D.  1571, 
which  crushed  forever,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  their  men- 
ace to  Europe. 

Effects  of  Crusades.  Incidentally  the  Crusades 
benefited  Europe  by  making  its  nations  better  ac- 
quainted with  each  other,  as  well  as  with  the  more 
Oriental  peoples.  While  they  gave  experience  and 
promoted  solidarity,  they  increased  knowledge  of 
both  letters  and  science,  and  opened  up  a  splendid 


THE  CRUSADES  353 

commerce.  A  fine  moral  effect  was  the  turning  the 
minds  of  men  from  their  petty  personal  and  local 
feuds,  to  the  grand  ideas  of  united  Christendom  de- 
fending its  homes,  its  civilization  and  its  religion. 
Again  the  orders  of  knighthood  developed  the  spirit 
of  chivalry  with  its  noble  ideals  and  its  lessons  of 
self-restraint.  One  of  the  dreams  of  Columbus  was 
to  rescue  the  Holy  Sepulcher  and  deliver  Jeinisalem 
with  the  gold  which  he  hoped  to  find  in  his  discov- 
eries. 

The  Church  gained  in  influence  through  the  part 
she  took  in  the  Crusades.  She  found  herself  the 
natural  leader  in  a  movement  that  engaged  the  na- 
tions for  centuries.  To  the  Popes,  as  the  head  of 
the  Christian  family,  more  than  to  any  other  influ- 
ence, may  we  be  grateful  that  the  Crescent  did  not 
supplant  the  Cross  on  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  in  the 
Capital  of  the  West,  as  it  did  (1453)  on  the  towers  of 
Santa  Sophia,  in  the  eastern  capital  of  Constantine, 
where  it  remains  to  this  day. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

76.    THE  MONASTERIES  OF  THE  MIDDLE 
AGES. 

The  promotion  of  civilization  among  our  ancestors 
called  for  the  efforts  of  many  men,  working  not  sin- 
gle-handed, but  united  in  obedience  to  a  great  plan 
and  in  denial  of  selfish  and  merely  personal  ends  for 
the  sake  of  its  accomplishment.  Hence  much  of  the 
activity  of  the  Church  during  the  development  of 
the  nations,  expressed  itself  through  the  monastic 
institutions.  The  missionary  center  of  the  dark  ages 
grew  into  the  school  and  town  of  the  middle  ages  and 
the  university  of  the  renaissance. 

St.  Benedict.  The  patriarch  of  the  western  monks 
is  St.  Benedict.  The  monastery  of  Monte  Cassino, 
near  Naples,  founded  by  him  in  529,  is  to  this  day, 
what  it  has  been  through  the  intervening  fourteen 
centuries,  a  home  of  science  and  virtue,  a  nursery 
of  cultured  scholars  and  pious  apostles.  Monte  Cas- 
sino is  a  type  of  the  37,000  houses  counted  by  this  or- 
der in  the  height  of  its  useful  and  zealous  labors. 
The  rule  framed  by  Benedict  is  well  called  a  master- 
piece of  wisdom  and  prudence.  Its  few  and  simple 
precepfl  are  well  calculated  to  train  men  in  detach- 
ment from  worldliness  and  in  Christian  perfection 
through  the  evangelical  counsels.  As  Longfellow 
says: 

"He  founded  here  his  convent  and  his  rule 
Of  prayei-   and  work,   and  counted   work   as  prayer. 
The  pen  became  a  clarion,  and  his  school 
Flamed  like  a  beacon  in  the  midnight  air." 
354 


MONASTERIES  OP  MIDDLE  AGES       355 

Irish  Monks.  Tin-  juunasteries  of  Ireland,  famous 
from  the  days  of  St.  Patrick,  won  for  her  the  name 
of  the  ''Isle  of  Sages  and  Saints/'  Through  the 
seventh,  eighth  and  ninth  centuries  her  institutions 
of  men  and  women  were  the  most  illustrious  seats  of 
learning  in  the  west.  From  these  nurseries  came 
the  Irish  missionaries  who  made  all  Europe  their 
spiritual  debtor.  To  the  monastic  schools  of  Ireland 
flocked  students  from  Germany,  Gaul,  Scotland  and 
England.  St.  Aldheim,  whom  King  Alfred  called 
the  prince  of  English  poets,  writes  that  students 
went  over  from  England  '  *  numerous  as  bees. ' '  These 
schools  were  famous  for  their  Greek  as  well  as  for 
their  Latin  classics,  ^and  philosophy  and  theology. 
Students  were  taught  and  boarded  free  of  cost,  and 
imbibed  the  virtue  and  culture  that  made  many  of 
them'celebrated  as  scholars  and  saints.  Outside  their 
own  country  the  Irish  maintained  13  monasteries  in 
Scotland,  7  in  France,  12  in  Armoric  Gaul,  7  in 
Lotharingia,  11  in  Burgundy,  9  in  Belgium,  10  in 
Alsatia,  16  in  Bavaria,  15  in  Rhetia,  Helvetia  and 
Suevia,  besides  others  beyond  the  Rhine.^ 

Work  of  the  Monks.  The  monks  included  lay- 
men as  w^ell  as  priests.  They  must  be  poor  and 
support  themselves  by  the  labor  of  their  hands. 
They  must  w^ork  and  pray.  Towns  all  over  Europe 
trace  their  origin  to  the  monastic  centers  of  the 
early  missionaries.  The  monastery  was  the  school 
of  religion  for  all,  since  each  must  know  and  serve 
God.  While  the  monks  preached  the  Gospel,  they 
also  drained  the  swamps,  cleared  the  forests,  tilled 
the  soil  and  exercised  the  industrial  arts.  Dressed 
in  the  rude  garb  of  the  country,  the  monks  thus 
gave  to  the  natives  who  settled  around  them  an  ob- 
ject lesson  in  the  method  and  dignity  of  labor; 
while   their   example   of  prayer   and   self-restraint 

^Thebaud:  The  Irish  Race.  • 


356       MONASTERIES  OF  MIDDLE  AGES 

taught  the  conquest  of  self  and  the  union  of  the 
humblest  lives  with  God. 

Their  Schools.  The  monastery  like  the  cathedral 
was  the  public  school  of  letters  for  all  who  could 
be  so  trained.  The  divine  fire  of  knowledge  was 
entrusted  to  the  keeping  of  the  more  promising 
youths,  who  in  turn  would  transmit  it  to  the  next 
generation.  Such  a  one  was  the  illustrious  Venera- 
ble Bede,  the  first  historian  of  England,  who  toiled 
in  his  monastery  for  fifty  years  and  died  (735)  dic- 
tating his  translation  of  the  Gospel.  The  art  of 
printing  was  not  discovered  till  the  15th  century. 
Throughout  those  long  ages,  every  book  was  writ- 
ten out  by  hand ;  and  generally  with  an  elegance  of 
art  which  makes  those  illuminated  parchments  the 
glory  of  the  modern  libraries  fortunate  enough  to 
possess  them.  In  monastery  and  convent  the  scrip- 
torium or  writing-room,  for  the  multiplication  and 
preservation  of  manuscripts,  was  the  scene  of  a 
labor  as  exhausting  to  the  faithful  toiler  as  it  has 
been  beneficial  to  posterity.  To  the  monastic  love 
of  learning  we  are  indebted  for  the  preservation, 
in  the  face  of  so  many  adverse  circumstances,  of 
the  Bible  and  the  treasures  of  early  Christian  and 
classical  literature  that  link  us  with  a  glorious  an- 
tiquity and  make  us  the  inheritors  of  its  riches:  as 
well  as  for  the  historical  annals,  the  poetry,  the 
philosophy  and  theology  of  the  Middle  Ages.  For 
centuries  the  monks  were  the  principal  teachers  of 
art  and  science.  Charlemagne  brought  the  British 
monk  Alcuin  to  preside  over  his  Palatine  school. 
Ever  marching  at  the  head  of  the  fast  advancing 
civilization,  these  Christian  schools  were  the  be- 
ginning of  the  great  Universities. 

Their  Great  Monument.  The  Middle  Ages  are 
dark  ages  only  for  those  who  are  ignorant  of  them. 
Scholars  wax  enthusiastic  over  them  in  proportion 


MONASTERIES  OF  MIDDLE  AGES       357 

to  the  thoroughness  with  which  they  have  studied 
their  history.  Montalembert  in  his  ''Monks  of  the 
West/^  does  not  raise  a  monument  to  their  achieve- 
ments, but  shows  that  our  own  civilization  is  their 
great  monument.  In  the  old  fable,  the  little  wren  is 
the  king  of  all  the  birds.  It  reaches  the  highest 
height.  It  did  so,  however,  not  by  itself,  but  be- 
cause in  the  test  it  perched  itself  upon  the  head  of 
the  eagle^and  was  lifted  to  the  clouds  by  the  giant 
bird  upon  whose  mighty  crest  its  own  insignificant 
feet  rested.  If  in  many  things  we  are  superior  to 
our  ancestors  of  the  past  ages,  we  do  well  gratefully 
to  remember  that  it  is  largely  because  we  stand  on 
the  shoulders  of  giants  whose  genius  and  toil  pre- 
pared our  way  and  made  possible  our  condition. 

While  the  inheritance  of  the  centuries  may  give 
to  us  a  more  favorable  environment,  it  may  well 
be  asked  what  age  has  produced  more  excellent  ed- 
ucators than  Alcuin,  Venerable  Bede,  St.  Bruno, 
Scotus  Erigena,  Roscelin;  or  bishops  more  admira- 
ble than  Hildebrand,  Anselm,^Lanfranc,  Dunstan; 
or  kings  more  worthy  than  Alfred  the  Great,  St. 
Edward,  Canute,  Charlemagne,  the  greater  leaders 
of  the  middle  period  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

Tributes.  Edmund  Burke  writes  of  those  days: 
*'To  the  spirit  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  to  the 
monks  of  the  Middle  Ages,  Europe  is  mainly  in- 
debted for  her  present  civilization."  Mrs.  Jameson 
says:  ''But  for  the  monks,  liberty;  literature  and 
science  had  been  extinguished."  "It  is  evident," 
says  Leibnitz,  "that  both  books  and  literature  have 
been  preserved  by  the  monasteries."  James  Whit- 
ney writes:  "The  power  of  the  mediaeval  world 
lay  partly  in  the  loftiness  of  its  ideals,  partly  in  the 
strength  of  its  institutions.  No  age  ever  showed 
in  individual  lives  a  keener  sense  of  duty  or  a  greater 
readiness  for  self-sacrifice.    The  ideals  of  the  lives  of 


358       MONASTERIES  OF  MIDDLE  AGES 

the  mendicant  friars,  the  greater  bishops  and  the  sim- 
ple parish  priests,  could  hardly  be  surpassed." 

**Hume  and  Robertson/'  says  Goldwin  Smith, 
*'have  long  been  consigned  to  disgrace  for  their 
want  of  accurate  erudition,  especially  in  relation 
to  the  Middle  Ages,  which  to  them  were  merely  the 
Dark  Ages:  while  to  the  mediaevalist  of  our  day 
they  appear  to  be  special  ages  of  light."  In  his  in- 
troduction to  the  Dark  Ages,  Maitland^speaks  of 
monasteries  "as  a  quiet  and  religious  refuge  for 
helpless  infancy  and  old  age,  a  shelter  of  respecta- 
ble sympathy  for  the  orphan  maiden  and  the  deso- 
late widow;  as  central  points  whence  agriculture 
was  to  spread  over  bleak  hills  and  barren  downs 
and  marshy  plains,  and  deal  bread  to  millions  per- 
ishing with  hunger  and  its  pestilential  train;  as 
repositories  of  the  learning  which  then  was,  and 
well-springs  of  the  learning  which  was  to  be;  as 
nurseries  of  art  and  science,  giving  the  stimulus, 
the  means,  and  the  reward  to  invention,  and  aggre- 
gating around  them  every  head  that  could  devise 
and  every  hand  thai:  could  execute ;  as  the  nucleus 
of  the  city,  which  in  after  days  of  pride  should 
crown  its  palaces  and  bulwarks  with  the  towering 
cross  of  its  cathedral." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

CULTURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

77.    THE  BOOK  OF  THE  WORDS. 

The  Renaissance  signifies  commonly  the  rebirth 
of  Greek  tastes  and  ideas  in  western  Europe, 
through  the  Greeks  who  fled  from  the  east  after 
the  fall  of  Constantinople  into  the  hands  of  the 
Turks  in  1453.  To  this  Greek  influence  is  some- 
times erroneously  credited  all  the  artistic  and  lit- 
erary glory  that  marked  the  close  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  The  history  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries  reveals,  on  the  contrary,  that  our  culture 
is  truly  the  development  of  the  influences  which 
had  been  long  and  steadily  at  work.  After  the  pa- 
tient preparation  of  winter,  the  tree  suddenly  puts 
forth  its  bright  blossoms.  So  the  labor  of  the  ear- 
lier and  humbler  periods  of  the  Middle  Ages,  at  last 
burst  forth  with  their  natural  flowers  of  fruit  ifi 
the  spring  of  the  thirteenth  century.  Indeed  so 
much  is  the  thirteenth  century — in  the  middle  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  and  over  200  years  before  the  fall 
of  Constantinople, — a  golden  age,  that  many  others 
with  Matthew  Arnold,  consider  it  the  greatest  and 
most  interesting  period  in  the  history  of  Christian- 
ity after  its  primitive  days.  The  thirteenth  century 
grew  out  of  the  centuries  that  preceded  it :  and  the 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth  were  impossible  without 
the  thirteenth. 

369 


360       CULTURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

Religion  Its  Inspiration.  Permeating  the  whole 
century  as  its  breath  of  its  life,  is  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. It  came  into  the  lives  of  the  lowliest  people 
through  the  ministry  of  the  mendicant  friars.  In 
the  Universities  it  joined  with  the  dialectics  of 
Aristotle  to  form  the  Christian  philosophy  of 
Thomas  of  Aquin  and  the  other  sons  of  St.  Dominic. 
The  mysticism  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  is  its  worthy 
practice  in  life.  The  Gothic  Cathedral  is  its  ex- 
pression in  stone.  The  painting  of  Cimabue,  the 
marbles  of  Giotto,  the  poetry  of  Dante,  are  inspira- 
tions of  religion.  The  age  was  glorified  by  great 
and  saintly  men  on  the  thrones  of  Church  and  State, 
as  well  as  in  the  cloister  and  the  school. 

Ruskin  says  that  the  proper  estimation  of  the  ac- 
complishment of  a  period  in  human  history  can  only 
be  obtained  by  the  careful  study  of  three  books,  the 
Book  of  the  "Words,  the  Book  of  the  Deeds,  the 
Book  of  the  Arts.  Under  these  heads  we  need  only 
to  indicate  the  men  and  movements  of  the  13th  cen- 
tury and  the  years  close  to  it,  and  their  influence 
bearing  fruit  through  the  14th  and  15th  centuries, 
to  see  the  glorious  civilization  of  Catholic  Christen- 
dom at  the  end  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  the  dawn 
of  our  modern  times. 

Literature.  This  period  heard  the  lyrics  of  Pe- 
trarch in  Italy,  of  the  Troubadors  and  Trouveres 
of  France,  the  Minnesingers  and  Mastersingers  of 
Germany.  Its  poets  christened  their  old  folk-lore 
songs.  From  it  come  to  us  the  Nibelungen-lied  and 
the  Gudrun,  the  Golden  Legends,  the  legends  of 
Arthur  and  the  Round  Table,  of  Percival  and  the 
Holy  Grail.^  Spain  then  created  the  romance  of 
the  '*Cid'';  France  the  ''Romance  of  the  Rose''; 
Germany  the  tales  of  ''Reynard  the  Fox." 

Meanwhile  the  religious  poets  sang  the  sorrows  of 

*  Used  by  Wagner,  Longfellow,  Tennyson,  etc. 


BOOK  OF  THE  WORDS  361 

Christ  and  his  holy  mother  in  the  plaintive  ''Stabat 
Mater";  or  the  terrible  majesty  of  the  last  judg- 
ment in  the  ''Dies  Irae."  Oftener  with  the  note  of 
joyous  life  which  marks  the  art  of  that  virile  age, 
they  sang  triumphantly  the  ''Pange  Lingua  Glori- 
osi, "  "  Paschali  Jubilo, "  "  Sacris  Solemniis. ' '  Again 
they  sang  reverently  **Veni  Sancte  Spiritus/'  '*Ad- 
oro  Te  Devote,"  "Jerusalem  the  Golden";  or 
praised  the  good  God  of  all  creatures  with  St.  Fran- 
cis in  his  ''Canticle  of  the  Sun."  After  seven  hun- 
dred years  all  of  these  works  live  as  literature. 

Dante.  As  the  fitting  crown  of  a  glorious  cen- 
tury, Italy,"  in  1265,  brought  forth  Dante  Alighieri, 
one  of  the  few  supreme  poets  of  all  time.  This  poet, 
whom  posterity  classes  with  Homer  and  Shakes- 
peare, aspired  to  rank  only  with  certain  of  his  for- 
gotten contemporaries  who  thus  indirectly  reveal 
the  culture  of  their  day.  In  his  "Divina  Corame- 
dia"  Dante  immortalizes  the  genius  of  his  age; 
sums  up  its  philosophy;  reflects  its  art  and  poetry, 
its  strifes  and  loves,  its  conscious  power  and  its  di- 
vine ideals. 

Dante  was  conscious  of  the  influence  of  the  men- 
dicant orders  that  sprung  up  in  his  day,  and  pays 
to  their  founders  the  tribute  of  sanctity  which  the 
world  has  not  ceased  to  repeat. 

*'L*un  (Francis  of  Assisi)  fu  tutto  Serafico  in  ar- 

dore, 
L'Altro  (St.  Dominic)  per  sapienza  in  terre  fue, 
Di  Cherubico  luce  uno  splendore." 

The  Universities.  By  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries  the  greater  monastic  and  cathedral  schools 
were  developing  into  our  universities.  Many  of 
the  greatest  institutions  of  higher  learning  have 
preserved  through  the  seven  intervening  centuries, 
aot  only  their  names,  but  with  little  ^  modification 


362       CULTURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

their  original  constitutions,  which  have  been  the 
models  for  all  later  schools  of  higher  educa- 
tion. 

The  University  of  Paris  grew  up  around  the  old 
cathedral  school.  Its  Latin  Quarter  beneath  the 
shadow  of  Notre  Dame  still  boasts  of  the  college 
founded  in  1250,  for  poor  students,  by  Robert  de 
Sorbonne,  chaplain  of  St.  Louis.  While  maintain- 
ing faculties  in  all  the  professions  as  well  as  in  the 
liberal  arts,  Paris  was  preeminent  in  philosophy, 
and  theology,  Salerno  in  medicine,  Bologna  in  law. 
Oxford  cultivated  theology  and  the  liberal  arts  and 
grew  out  of  monastic  schools  going  back*  to  the  days 
of  Alfred. 

The  early  Universities  received  their  charters 
from  the  Pope,  and  with  them  his  protection  and 
assistance.  To  enumerate  these  foundations  of  the 
13th,  14th  and  15th  centuries  will  bear  witness  to 
the  culture  fostered  by  the  Church  in  every  land;^ 
for  nothing  can  indicate  better  the  character  and 
civilization  of  an  age  than  its  schools.  "What  these 
schools  taught  is  revealed  by  the  deeds,  the  art  and 
the  letters  which  their  age  has  left.  In  his  inaug- 
ural address  as  president  of  Aberdeen  University, 
Thomas  Huxley  said  of  these  mediasval  schools:  *'I 
doubt  if  the  curriculum  of  any  modern  university 
shows  so  clear  and  generous  a  comprehension  of 
what  is  meant  by  culture  as  this  old  Trivium  and 
Quadrivium  does." 

A.  D.  1200-1300.  The  13th  century  saw  the  char- 
tering of  the  following  great  Universities,  several 
of  which  date  their  character  as  General  Schools 
to  the  previous  century:  Salerno,  Paris,  Bologna, 
Orleans,  Modena,  Reggio,  VillaiSlfva,  Vicenza,  1204; 
Palencia,  1214;  Arezzo,  1215;  Padua,  1222;  Naples, 
1225;  Vercelli,  1228;  Toulouse,  1233;  Salamanca, 
1243;  Piaceajza,  1248;  Oxford,  1249;  Seville,  1254; 


BOOK  OF  THE  WORDS  363 

Cambridge,  1257 ;  Perugia,  1276 ;  Montpellier,  1289 ; 
Lerida,  1300;  Lyons,  1300. 

A.  D.  1300-1400.  The  14th  century  added  the  fol- 
lowing Universities:  Rome,  1303;  Avignon,  1303; 
Angers,  1305;  Coimbra  (Lisbon),  1309;  Treviso, 
1318;  Florence,  1320;  Dublin,  1320;  Cahors,  1332; 
Grenoble,  1339;  Pisa,  1343;  Prague  (Bohemia), 
1347;  Valladolid,  1346;  Sienna,  1357;  Huesca,  1354; 
Pavia,  1361;  Cracow  (Poland),  1364;  Vienna,  1364; 
Orange,  1365;  Erfurt,  1376;  Heidelberg,  1385;  Co- 
logne, 1388;  Ferrara,  1391;  Palermo,  1394. 

A.  D.  1400-1500.  -  The  15th  century  inaugurated 
more  great  Universities :  Ingolstadt,  1401;  Wuerz- 
burg,  1403;  Turin,  1405;  Leipsic,  1409;  Aix, 
1409;  Valencia,  1410;  St.  Andrews  (Scotland), 
1411 ;  Rostosk,  1419 ;  Cremona,  1413 ;  Louvain,  1426 ; 
Portiers,  1431;  Caen,  1437;  Bordeaux,  1441;  Treves, 
1450;  Glasgow,  1450 ;  Valence,  1452;  Freiburg,  1455; 
Greifswalde,  1456 ;  Basle,  1459 ;  Nantes,  1463 ;  Bour- 
ges,  1465;  Ofen  (Buda),  1465;  Presburg,  1467;  Sara- 
gossa,  1474;  Mainz,  1476;  Tubingen,  1477;  Upsala 
(Sweden),  1477;  Copenhagen,  1479;  Avila,  1482; 
Aberdeen,  1494;  Alcala,  1499. 

Doctors  and  Saints.  Universities  sprang  up  and 
multiplied  because  there  were  great  men  to  hear 
whom  students  were  drawn  in  thousands.  They 
discuss^  the  problems  that  ever  concern  mankind: 
human  life  and  destiny  and  relations.  But  like 
Plato,  Augustine  and  the  other  great  philosophers, 
they  discussed  these  questions  in  such  a  way  that 
their  thoughts  still  fascinate  the  deepest  minds. 
Oxford  and  Paris  Universities  are  said  to  have  had 
as  many  as  30,000  students  at  one  time. 

The  Golden  Age  of  Athanasius  and  Augustine 
returned  in  the  genius  of  the  scholastics.  A  perma- 
nent place  in  the  history  of  culture  belongs  to  Abe- 
lard,  St.  Bernard,  Robert  Pulleyne,  Peter  Lombard, 


364       CULTURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

John  of  Salisbury,  Albertus  Magnus,  Richard 
and  Hugo  of  St.  Victor,  to  the  English  Franciscans 
Alexander  of  Hales  and  Dun  Scotus,  Vincent  of 
Beauvais  the  cyclopaedist  of  his  age,  and  to  its  great 
doctors  of  law,  Raymond  of  Pennafort,  Gratian  and 
Irnerius  of  Bologna.  After  centuries  of  time  the 
Franciscan  Bonaventura  is  still  the  Seraphic  doctor. 
His  Oxford  brother,  Roger  Bacon,  who  studied  the 
book  of  Nature,  as  well  as  Revelation,  is  honored  by 
his  fellow  scientists,  who  use  his  magnifying  glass. 
The  writings  of  St.  Thomas  of  Aquin,  who  grappled 
with  every  possible  difficulty  which  the  keenest  mind 
could  bring  against  the  Christian  religion,  and  set 
his  theology  in  the  strong  frame  work  of  the  Aris- 
totelian philosophy,  leave  him  still  the  '^  Angel  of 
the  Schools. ' '  The  ' '  Imitation  of  Christ ' '  of  Thomas 
a  Kempis,  who  came  a  little  later,  but  came  to  stay 
forever,  has  held  a  place  in  thoughtful  minds  second 
only  to  the  Gospels. 

78.     THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEEDS. 

The  men  and  women  whom  an  age  reveals  as  its 
leaders  are  an  indication  of  its  greatness  or  its  pet- 
tiness. The  dawn  of  the  period  of  which  we  speak, 
saw  upon  the  thrones  of  Europe  Frederick  Barba- 
rossa,  Rudolf  of  Hapsburg,  Philip  Augustus,  Richard 
the  Lion  Hearted,  Louis  IX,  the  royal  Saint  of 
France.  Blanche  of  Castile  and  Elizabeth  of  Hun- 
gary, saintly  queens  of  the  court,  Clare  of  Assisi, 
queenly  saint  of  the  cloister,  mark  the  dignity  of 
woman  at  the  time  and  foreshadowed  Catherine  of 
Siena,  Joan  of  Arc  and  Isabella  of  Spain. 

On  the  papal  throne,  during  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury alone,  sat  the  truly  great  Innocent  III,  the  sci- 
entist John  XXI,  the  patron  of  learning  Honorius 
IV,  the  humble  St.  Celestine  V,  and  the  misunder- 


BOOK  OF  THE  DEEDS  365 

stood  genius,  Boniface  VIII.  There  were  great  men 
also  on  the  episcopal  thrones.  The  bishops  rightly 
chosen  f|Dm  the  ranks  of  the  clergy  for  their  su- 
perior ability,  were  generally  scions  of  the  common 
people.  The  elevation  of  such  natural  leaders  to 
influence,  even  to  the  more  than  royal  power  of  the 
papal  chair,  fostered  democracy,  curbed  tyranny,  en- 
couraged the  hopes  and  protected  the  rights  of  the 
people. 

Magna  Charta.  One  of  these  bishops  was  Stephen 
Langton,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  His  predeces- 
sor, St.  Thomas  a  Becket,  had  been  murdered  at 
the  altar  by  the  villains  of  Henry  II,  for  his  op- 
posiliuu  to  the  king's  trampling  on  law-given  and 
time-honored  English  rights.  Langton  was  destined 
to  wrest  successfully  from  the  grandson  of  Henry, 
that  incomparable  document,  the  Magna  Charta  of 
constitutional  liberties.  This  charter  framed  in  the 
thirteenth  century  by  the  Catholic  Archbishop  and 
Barons  of  England,  with  its  rights  of  Habeas  Corpus 
and  trial  by  jury,  its  principle  of  "no  taxation  with- 
out representation,''  and  its  practical  death-blow  to 
arbitrary  power  in  kings,  is  the  greatest  bulwark 
of  civil  liberty,  the  cornerstone  of  constitutional  gov- 
ernment in  England,  and  the  foundation  of  American 
constitutional  freedom. 

The  historian  Green,  speaking  of  Langton  upon 
his  return  to  his  native  land  after  his  consecration 
by  Pope  Innocent  III,  says,  *'From  the  moment  he 
landed  in  England  he  assumed  the  constitutional 
position  of  the  Primate,  'as  champion  of  the  old 
English  customs  and  law,  against  the  personal  des- 
potism of  the  kings."  Acting  under  his  counsel 
the  barons  extorted  from  King  John,  at  Runnymede, 
in  1215,  the  Great  Charter.  Says  Hallam:  ''Two 
great  men,  the  pillars  of  the  Church  and  State,  may 
be  considered  as  entitled  beyond  the  rest,  to  the 


366       CULTURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

■* 

glory  of  the  monument,  Stephen  Langton,  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  and  William  Earl  of  Pembroke.  To 
their  temperate  zeal  for  legal  government,  England 
was  indebted  during  that  critical  period,  for  the 
greatest  blessing  that  patriotic  statesmen  could  con- 
fer: the  establishment  of  civil  liberty  upon  an  im- 
movable basis,  and  the  preservation  of  national  in- 
dependence under  the  ancient  line  of  sovereigns 
which  rasher  men  were  about  to  exchange  for  the 
dominion  of  France." 

Three  World  Discoverers.  When  the  year  1400 
began  to  unroll  the  secrets  of  a  new  century,  little 
possible  it  seemed  that  its  scroll  was  to  reveal  three 
men,  whose  names  would  be  written  immortally  in 
the  book  of  deeds,  as  w^orld  discoverers.  These  men 
were  Copernicus,  who  revealed  the  astronomical 
world  in  the  system  which  bears  his  name:  Guten- 
berg, who  opened  up  the  larger  world  of  letters, 
made  possible  by  the  printing  press :  Columbus,  who 
gave  us  the  mighty  world  of  the  western  hemis- 
phere. No  word  need  be  said  about  the  grandeur  of 
these  discoveries. 

Copernicus.  All  of  these  world-compelling  giants 
were  devout  sons  of  the  Church  and  were  encouraged 
in  their  enterprises  by  the  generous  patronage  of 
noble  Catholic  rulers.  The  Polish  Copernicus,  born 
in  1473,  was  a  priest  as  well  as  an  astronomer.  After 
teaching  in  the  University  of  Rome,  the  cosmopolitan 
and  catholic  city  which  knows  genius  but  not  na- 
tionality, he  retired  on  a  benefice  provided  for  him 
by  Pope  Paul  III.  • 

Gutenberg.  The  German  Gutenberg,  who  in- 
vented his  printing  press  about  1438,  and  in  1450 
was  able  to  run  off  quarto  copies  of  the  whole  Bible, 
enjoyed  the  friendship  of  Adolph,  Archbishop  of 
Mayence,  who  gave  the  struggling  genius  the  very 
practical  encouragement  of  a  pension. 


BOOK  OF  THE  DEEDS  -  'Mu 

The  love  of  learning  which  in  the  past  had  led 
the  Church  to  count  the  copying  of  manuscripts 
part  of  the  monastery 's  work,  now  multiplied,  hooks 
of  literature,  science,  history  and  religion  by  means 
of  the  printing  press.  The  Vatican  Library,  in  rare 
books  and  manuscripts,  the  richest  in  the  world,  was 
refounded  by  Pope  Nicholas  V.  A  little  later  Leo 
X  was  scouring  all  Europe  for  manuscripts  of  history 
and  the  classics,  to  add  to  its  treasuries  and  publish 
to  the  world.  A  single  corridor  of  this  library, 
which  with  the  Vatican  galleries  of  art  makes  up 
most  of  the  papal  palace,  is  almost  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  in  length.  It  is  the  enlightened  policy  of  the 
Church  to  leave  all  the  treasures  of  the  Vatican 
Ijibrary  freely  open  to  the  world,  and  to  secure 
the  most  learned  scholars  as  curators  of  this  greatest 
mine  of  history.  Leo  XIII,  who  in  throwing  open 
even  its  secret  archives  containing  centuries  of  diplo- 
matic correspondence  with  governments,  gave  stimu- 
lus to  the  scientific  writing  of  history  and  example 
to  all  rulers,  wrote  that  the  first  law  of  historical 
writing  should  be,  to  fear  to  state  error  and  not^  to 
fear  to  state  the  truth. 

Columbus.  The  Italian  Columbus,  born  at  Genoa 
in  1436,  probably  learned  at  the  University,  of  Pavia 
the  new  theories  of  the  roundness  of  the  earth,  as 
well  as  astronomy,  mathematics  and  geography. 
Through  the  years  of  disappointment,  when  his  plans 
were  neglected  at  the  courts  to  which  he  applied 
for  help,  Columbus  was  buoyed  up  with  the  pious 
belief  that  Heaven  had  destined  him  to  plant  the 
banner  of  the  cross  on  the  unknown  shores  of  which 
he  dreamed. 

Leaving  his  own  country  and  making  his  way  to 
Spain,  Columbus  stopped  to  beg  bread  and  w^ater 
for  his  son  at  the  Franciscan  convent  of  La  Rabida. 
This  day  was  the  turning  point  of  his  life.     The  su- 


368   CULTURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

perior,  Father  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena,  who  had  been 
the  confessor  of  Queen  Isabella,  appreciated  the 
grandeur  of  the  wayfarer's  ideas  and  henceforth  ex- 
erted every  influence  to  obtain  the  required  aid  from 
the  court  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  The  war  of 
Spain  with  the  Moors  made  the  risk  of  money  diffi- 
cult at  the  time.  In  the  years  that  Columbus  had  still 
to  wait,  he  found  warm  friends  who  actively  favored 
his  enterprise,  not  only  in  the  faithful  Franciscans, 
but  in  the  great  Dominican  Deza,  the  Archbishop  of 
Toledo,  the  confessor  Talavera  and  other  ecclesiastics 
who  had  sat  in  judgment  of  his  plans  in  the  Council 
of  Granada. 

Isabella  the  Catholic.  When  Columbus,  weary  with 
waiting,  had  actually  left  Granada  in  despair.  Father 
Santangel  pleaded  successfully  with  Isabella  to  ac- 
cede to  the  plans  of  the  inspired  navigator  and  found 
the  enterprise  with  her  own  means.  Isabella  the 
Catholic  pledged  herself  to  sell  her  own  crown  jew- 
els, if  need  be,  to  secure  sufficient  money  for  the 
voyage.  Thus  the  Queen,  whom  Irving  describes  as 
one  of  the  purest  and  most  beautiful  characters  in 
the  pages  of  history,  by  her  generosity,  won  for 
herself  an  immortal  crown  of  fame,  and  added  a 
new  glory  to  heroic  womankind.  The  vision  of 
Columbus  began  to  be  realized. 

79.    THE  BOOK  OF  THE  ARTS. 

Thousands  of  tourists  from  every  civilized  land 
journey  continually  from  city  to  city  of  Italy  and 
France  and  Spain  and  England  and  the  Rhineland, 
as  pilgrims  might  wander  from  shrine  to  shrine,  to 
pay  the  tribute  of  unceasing  admiration  to  the  ca- 
thedrals, domes,  spires,  the  marvelous  creations  of 
painting  and  sculpture  and  architecture,  which  make 
the  golden  age  of  Christian  philosophy  and  theology 


BOOK  OF  THE  ARTS  369 

— the  centuries  of  the  schoolmen  and  universities, 
likewise  the  golden  age  of  Christian  art.  The  art 
of  a  country  is  the  revelation  of  its  ideals  and  a 
measure  of  its  civilization.  Not  her  heroes,  but  art 
made  Greece  immortal.  The  art  of  the  13th,  14th 
and  15th  centuries,  as  well  as  the  scholastic  and 
social  achievements  of  those  times,  is  evidence  that 
the  close  of  the  middle  ages  w^as  a  period  of  very 
high  culture  and  civilization. 

Architecture.  The  Neo-Germanic  style  of  archi- 
tecture created  by  the  Christian  religion,  and  called 
Gothic,  with  all  its  lines  thrown  upward,  so  as  to 
lead  the  eye  toward  heaven,  its  tall  clustered  pil- 
lars and  broken  arches  guiding  the  senses  from  the 
earth,  is  found  in  its  perfection  in  the  13th  century. 
Within  a  few  generations  were  created  most  of  those 
unparalleled  temples  whose  immensity  of  mass, 
whose  beauty  and  individuality  of  chiseled  detail,  no 
pen  can  describe ;  which  in  our  day  the  most  power- 
ful states  would  hardly  think  of  attempting,  but 
which,  stimulated  by  the  inspiration  of  religion,  and 
impelled  by  a  generous  devotion,  single  cities  united 
in  Christian  faith  and  civic  pride,  then  courageously 
undertook  and  triumphantly  completed. 

Gothic  Cathedrals.  Then  France  builded  the  Ca- 
thedrals of  Amiens  (1228);  Rheims  (1232); 
Rouen  (1220) ;  Beauvais  (1250) ;  and  a  host  besides; 
dedicated  the  glory  of  Chartres  (1260),  after  150 
years  of  work;  at  Paris  reared  St.  Denis,  the  royal 
mausoleum,  and  La  Sainte  Chapelle,  and  the  towers 
of  Notre  Dame  (1163-1223),  still  the  most  noble  pile 
in  the  city  of  splendid  monuments.  Then  England 
builded  her  greatest  Cathedrals,  including  Salisbury 
(1220)  ;  York  (1227)  ;  Ely  (1235)  ;  Durham  (1212)  ; 
Canterbury  (1175)  ;  and  the  present  Westminster 
Abbey  (1247).  Spain  began  the  Cathedrals  of  To- 
ledo and  Burgos  in  1228.     Belgium  then  builded  St. 


370       CULTURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

Gudule's  Church  at  Brussels  (1226)  and  the  glorious 
Dunes  (1214-1262).  In  distant  Norway,  Thrond- 
hjem  raised  its  Cathedral  which  remains  to  this  day 
the  most  solid  and  imposing  monument  on  the  Scan- 
dinavian peninsula.  At  the  same  period,  Germany 
reared  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  at  Treves  (1227)  ; 
of  St.  Elizabeth  at  Marburg  (1255)  ;  and  the  Gothic 
trilogy  of  the  Rhine,  the  Cathedrals  of  Strasburg, 
Freiburg,   and  indescribable   Cologne    (1248). 

Italian  Domes.  The  Italians  based  their  architec- 
ture on  the  old  Roman  forms  with  which  they  were 
familiar,  and  whose  horizontal  lines  and  round 
arches  accorded  with  the  environment  of  their  bright 
and  beautiful  country.  But  they  also  looked  upw^ard. 
They  created  the  dome.  The  pagans  had  built  such 
circular  temples  on  the  ground.  The  dome  elevated 
far  above  the  earth,  is  one  of  the  sublimest  concep- 
tions of  architecture.  •  The  first  great  dome  was  built 
by  Brunelleschi  over  the  Cathedral  of  Florence. 
Later  Michael  Angelo  said:  *'I  will  raise  the  Pan- 
theon in  the  air,  to  be  the  canopy  of  the  altar  of  Je- 
sus Christ":  and  a  fane  vaster  than  the  structure  of 
Agrippa  towers  over  Rome  in  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's. 

Tuscany.  Tuscany,  the  cradle  of  so  much  that  has 
been  greatest  and  most  beautiful  in  Ifaly,  conse- 
crated in  1118  the  Cathedral  of  Pisa,  '*a  cross  of  chis- 
eled flowers";  and  in  1153  its  Baptistery,  whose  lines 
are  as  harmonious  as  the  music  of  its  echo.  Gio- 
vanni Pisano  began  the  Cathedral  of  Orvieto  in  1285. 
Andrea  Pisano,  in  1336,  made  for  the  Baptistery  of 
Florence,  the  first  of  the  bronze  doors  whose  com- 
panions by  Ghiberti,  Michael  Angelo  said  were  wor- 
thy to  be  the  gates  of  Paradise.  Florence  in  1294 
began  her  Church  of  Santa  Croce,  the  mausoleum  in 
which  she  has  placed  the  tombs  and  monuments  of 
some  of  her  greater  sons,  including  Dante,  the  prince 
of  poets ;  Michael  Angelo,  the  prince  of  artists ;  Gali- 


BOOK  OF  THE  ARTS  371 

leo,  the  prince  of  scientists.  In  1296  was  begun  the 
lovely  Cathedral  of  Florence,  with  its  dome  and  the 
matchless  campanile  of  which  Longfellow  sings: 

**  In  the  old   IXiscan   town  stands  Giotto's  tower, 
The  lily  of  Florence,  blossoming  in  stone, 
A  vision,  a  delight,  and  a  desire, 
llie  builder's  perfect  and  centennial  flower, 
That  in  the  night  of  ages  bloomed   (and  not)   alone." 

Milan.  The  Cathedral  of  Milan,  that  miracle  of 
glistening  white  marble,  was  begun  in  1386.  It  is 
500  feet  long,  by  288  feet  wide;  and  the  principal 
one  of  its  hundred  pinnacles  rises  to  a  height  of  400 
feet.  It  is  adorned  with  several  thousand  marble 
statues,  every  sculptor  deeming  it  an  honor  to  fill 
one  of  the  innumerable  niches  that  cover  the  exterior 
walls,  and  crown  and  fret  the  spires.  Campione, 
the  architect  who  designed  this  marvelous  fane  more 
than  500  years  ago,  spent  half  a  century  on  its  plans, 
and  the  succeeding  Archbishops  of  Milan  have  spent 
more  than  half  a  millennium  on  its  completion*. 

Awed  by  the  majesty  of  Milan,  the  humor  of  Mark 
Twain  gives  place  to  the  deeper  feelings  of  admira- 
tion and  reverence.  **At  last,''  he  writes,  *'a  forest 
of  graceful  needles  shimmering  in  the  amber  sun- 
light, rose  slowly  above  the  pigmy  house-tops,  as  one 
sometimes  sees,  in  the  far  horizon,  a  gilded  and  pin- 
nacled mass  of  clouds  lift  itself  above  the  waste  of 
waves  at  sea.  The  Cathedral !  We  knew  it  in  a 
moment. 

"Half  of  that  night  and  all  of  the  next  day,  this 
architectural  autocrat  was  our  sole  object  of  inter- 
est. "What  a  wonder  it  is !  So  grand,  so  solemn,  so 
vast !  And  yet  so  delicate,  so  airy,  so  graceful !  A 
very  world  of  solid  weight ;  and  yet  it  seems  in  the 
soft  moonlight  only  a  fair  delusion  of  frost-work 
that  might  vanish  with  a  breath !    How  sharply  its 


372       CULTURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

pinnacled  angles  and  its  wilderness  of  spires  were 
cut  against  the  sky,  and  how  richly  their  shadows 
fell  upon  the  snowy  roof !  It  was  a  vision !  A  mir-' 
acle !  An  anthem  sung  in  stone,  a  poem  wrought 
in  marble ! 

"Howsoever  you  look  at  the  great  Cathedral,  it  is 
noble,  it  is  beautiful !  Wherever  you  stand  in  Milan, 
or  within  seven  miles  of  Milan,  it  is  visible;  and 
when  it  is  visible,  no  other  object  can  chain  your 
whole  attention.  Leave  your  eyes  unfettered  by 
your  will  but  a  single  instant  and  they  will  surely 
turn  to  seek  it.  It  is  the  first  thing  you  look  for 
when  you  rise  in  the  morning,  and  the  last  your  lin- 
gering gaze  rests  upon  at  night.  Surely,  it  must  be 
the  princeliest  creation  that  ever  brain  of  man  con- 
ceived. 

"They  say  the  Cathedral  of  Milan  is  second  only 
to  St.  Peter's  at  Rome.  I  cannot  understand  how  it 
can  be  second  to  anything  made  by  human  hands. 
How  surely  in  some  future  day,  when  the  memory  of 
it  shall  have  lost  its  vividness,  shall  we  half  believe 
we  have  seen  it  in  a  wonderful  dream,  but  never 
with  waking  eyes." 

Rome.  More  than  a  century  after  Milan,  more 
than  two  centuries  after  Florence  had  reared  their 
cathedrals,  Rome  felt  it  necessary  to  replace  the  old 
St.  Peter's  Church  which  had  crowned  the  Vatican 
hill  since  the  days  of  Constantine.  It  must  be  a 
world  Cathedral,  the  oWering  of  the  nations,  the  sym- 
bol of  the  faith  of  Christendom.  Michael  Angelo, 
to  whom  was  entrusted  the  task  of  surpassing  the 
unequaled  creations  of  the  two  centuries  before  him, 
had  at  last  an  idea — shall  we  say  with  Victor  Hugo, 
of  despair.  That  Titan  of  art  piled  the  Pantheon  on 
the  Parthenon  and  made  the  new  St.  Peter's.  Each 
century  since  has  its  copy  of  St.  Peter's.  London 
has  it  in  St.  Paul 's,  whose  grandeur  only  emphasizes 


BOOK  OF  THE  ARTS  373 

the  unequaled  greatness  of  the  Roman  basilica.  The 
United  States  has  in  the  cupola  of  our  Capitol,  the 
worthiest  counterpart  of  the  master  dome.  But 
there  is  only 'one  St.  Peter's,  the  "signature  of  the 
giant  artist  at  the  bottom  of  the  colossal  register  of 
stone.'' 

St.  Peter's.  Dates  and  dimensions  cannot  convey- 
any  proper  conception  of  the  grandeur  of  design  and 
the  beauty  of  detail  of  the  old  cathedrals,  which 
make  of  every  thoughtful  visitor  a  reverent  lover  of 
the  mingled  culture,  piety  and  virility  of  the  ages 
which  produced  them.  Their  size  startles  us.  The 
Duomo  of  Florence  can  accommodate  25,000;  the 
Cathedral  of  Milan,  40,000;  St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  60,- 
000. 

But  what  impression  of  this  domed  Cathedral  on 
the  Tiber,  with  its  marble  walls  encrusted  with  the 
priceless  sculptures  of  Michael  Angelo,  Bernini  and 
Canova ;  and  preserving  in  perfect  mosaics  the  mas- 
terpieces of  Raphael,  Guido  Reni  and  Domenichino; 
with  its  divine  harmony  of  proportion  stealing  away 
the  appearance  of  unwonted  size — to  say  that  it  is 
700  feet,  or  over  an  eighth  of  a  mile  long,  its  triple 
transepts  450  feet  wide,  its  nave  150  feet  high ;  that 
its  cupola  rises  still  300  feet  above  the  roof,  is  630 
feet  in  circumference  and  supported  by  piers  234 
feet  around;  that  the  graceful  baldacchino  which 
canopies  the  altar  table  is  95  feet  high,  the  pen  of 
the  mosaic  evangelist  is  6  feet  long,  the  pretty  cher- 
ubs round  the  holy-water  font  are  mighty  giants; 
that  some  700  pillars  support  the  arches  of  this  tem- 
ple and  its  immense  exterior  colonnades  whose  arms 
open  out  mightily,  yet  gracefully  as  a  mother's,  to 
welcome  the  world !  No  figures  nor  words  can  com- 
pass this  grandest  temple  that  man  has  raised  to  the 
glory  of  God. 

Worthy  leaders  of  their  age  and  deserving  of  the 


374       CULTURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

world's  grateful  admiration  were  those  Popes,  Nick- 
olas  V,  Julius  II,  Leo  X,  whose  enlightened  culture 
and  energetic  will  could  recognize  and  foster  the 
genius  of  Bramante,  Raphael,  Michael  Angelo,  and 
preserve  it  incarnate  in  St.  Peter's  and  the  Vatican. 

Painting.  The  Christian  religion  has  influenced 
painting  from  the  beginning.  The  paintings  found 
on  the  walls  of  the  Catacombs  have  a  beauty,  in  spite 
of  technical  defects.  The  higher  life  gave  a  higher 
art.  Christ  and  His  immaculate  Mother  are  the 
ideals  of  tragic  heroism  and  divine  love.  The  con- 
templation of  these  models  taught  the  subordination 
of  sensual  to  moral  beauty.  It  could  no  longer  be 
the  artist's  aim  to  paint  merely  a  finely  formed  body, 
but  a  body  ennobled  and  spiritualized  by  a  generous 
and  sympathetic  soul.  The  wedding  of  technical 
perfection  and  Christian  faith  made  the  close  of  the 
Middle  Ages  the  golden  age  of  the  painter's  art. 

Genius  Inspired  by  Faith.  ''By  the  grace  of 
God,"  decreed  the  Siennese  painters  in  1355,  *'we 
are  to  rule  men,  being  manifestors  of  the  things 
worked  by  virtue  and  by  holy  faith."  ^'We  aim," 
said  Buffalmacco,  *'to  make  saints  by  our  frescoes 
and  pictures  and  to  make  men  more  devout  and 
holy."  Cennini  in  his  "Treatise  on  Painting,"  in- 
sists on  the  moral  discipline  required  to  form  the 
artist,  who  must  abstain  from  sinful  indulgence, 
learn  self-restraint,  love  abstinence  and  solitude,  and 
frequent  confession  and  the  Sacrament  of  Holy  Com- 
munion, that  being  holy,  he  may  be  a  teacher  of  holi- 
ness. He  teaches  the  use  of  good  colors  as  a  reli- 
gious duty,  saying  that  if  the  painter  be  underpaid, 
**God  and  Our  Lady  will  reward  him  in  body  and 
soul." 

Era  Lippo  Dalmasio,  the  Carmelite  monk,  never 
painted  a  religious  subject  save  with  prayer  and  fast- 
ing; and  so  great  was  his  success  that  Guido  Reni 


BOOK  OF  THE  ARTS  375 

could  not  contemplate  his  pictures  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  without  falling  into  a  kind  of  ecstasy.  He 
refused  to  take  money,  but  painted  solely  for  the 
love  of  God  and  the  Blessed  Mother. 

Fra  Angelico  painted  Christ  and  Mary  only  on  his 
knees;  and  the  Crucifixion,  blinded  with  tears.  All 
men  have  agreed  to  call  him  Angel  and  Blessed.  In 
his  Virgin  we  behold  the  very  chastity  of  heaven; 
and  of  his  angels  Michael  Angelo  said  that  no  man 
could  paint  them  who  had  not  seen  them  in  some 
higher  world.  Faith  and  love  inspired  Fra  Angelico, 
and  one  who  drank  from  fountains  less  pure  and 
deep  could  not  have  unveiled  to  mortal  eyes  such 
celestial  loveliness. 

So,  in  faith,  with  religious  sincerity,  without 
thought  of  gold  or  sordid  motive,  worked  those  Old 
Masters,  caring  not  to  please  the  vicious  taste  of  an 
ignorant  public,  but  only  to  approve  themselves  to 
Him  who  is  the  great  and  eternal  artist. 

The  Old  Masters.  To  enumerate  the  immortal 
names  of  the  old  masters  and  the  date  of  their  birth 
will  reveal  to  the  cultured  reader  how  the  flower  of 
civilization,  planted  by  the  Church  in  the  dark  ages 
of  the  fall  of  the  ancient  empire  and  the  migration 
of  the  new  nations,  and  fostered  with  infinite  toil 
through  the  Middle  Ages,  blossomed  with  matchless 
beauty  in  the  Catholic  days  long  before  the  sixteenth 
century. 

Cimabue,  born  A.  D.  1240 ;  Giotto,  1276 ;  Simone- 
Martini,  1283 ;  Taddeo-Gaddi,  1300 ;  Gentile  da  Fab- 
rino,  1370 ;  Donatello,  1386 ;  Fra  Angelico,  1387 ;  Luca 
della  Robbia,  1400 ;  Fra  Filippo  Lippi,  1412 ;  Gozzoli, 
1424;  Bellini,  1428;  Mantegna,  1430;  Melozzo  da 
Forli,  1438;  Andrea  della  Robbia,  1444;  Perugino, 
1446;  Botticelli,  1447;  Ghirlandajo,  1449;  Leonardo 
da  Vinci,  1452 ;  Francia,  1450 ;  Carpaccio,  1450 ;  Pen- 
turicchio,  1454;  Credi,  1459;  Filippino  Lippi,  1460; 


376       CULTURE  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

Fra  Bartolommeo,  1469 ;  Albertinalli,  1474 ;  PaccMar- 
otto,  1474 ;  Michael  Angelo  Buonarroti,  1475 ;  Palma 
Veechio,  1475;  Luini,  1475;  Puligo,  1475;  Granacci, 
1477;  Sodoma,  1477;  Titian,  1477;  Giorgione,  1477; 
Lorenzo  Lotto,  1480 ;  Raphael  Santi,  1483 ;  Piombo, 
1485 ;  Andrea  del  Sarto,  1486 ;  Giulio  Romano,  1492 ; 
Correggio,  1494. 

These  were  the  older  Italian  Masters.  "With  them 
worked,  less  skillfully  perhaps,  but  not  less  lovingly, 
the  old  German,  French  and  English  guilds  of  art- 
ists, who,  under  their  masters,  sculptured  endlessly 
the  portals  and  towers  of  their  Gothic  fanes,  and 
carved  patiently  their  choir  stalls,  and  painted  into 
very  life  their  altar-pieces  and  windows. 

In  the  coming  years  their  artistic  and  Catholic 
traditions  were  shared  and  preserved  by  Ribera,  Vel- 
azquez and  Murillo  in  Spain ;  by  Durer  and  the  Hol- 
beins  in  Germany ;  by  Poussin  and  Mignard  in 
France;  by  Van  Eyk  and  Rubens  in  Flanders;  and 
by  Guido  Reni,  Tintoretto,  Allori,  Paulo  Veronese, 
Domenichino,  Strozzi,  Sassoferrato,  Salvator  Rosa, 
Carlo  Dolci,  who,  with  many  other  names  of  highest 
power,  have  made  Catholic  Italy  ''the  consecrated 
land  of  poetry  and  of  song,  the  home  of  beauty  and 
of  all  loveliness,  the  native  country  of  the  soul.^^ 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  CHURCH  AND  MODERN  TIMES 
80.    FRUIT  OF  A  THOUSAND  YEARS. 

The  year  1500  is  taken  to  mark  the  division  be- 
tween the  Middle  Ages  and  Modern  Times.  What 
the  Middle  Ages  accomplished  in  the  thousand  years 
from  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  476,  to  the  dis- 
covery of  America  in  1492,  is  best  realized  when  we 
recall  the  barbarous  hordes  of  the  fifth  century, 
Goths,  Alans,  Huns,  P^ranks,  Teutons  and  Celts, 
struggling  amid  blood  and  ruin  for  the  provinces  of 
the  fallen  empire,  and  compare  them  with  their  de- 
scendants of  the  elegant  Renaissance.  Before  the 
dawn  of  the  sixteenth  century  Europe  enjoyed  a 
degree  of  civilization  which  received  little  addition 
till  the  scientific  discoveries  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. Macaulay  wrote  in  1827 :  *' We  doubt  whether 
any  country  of  Europe,  our  own  perhaps  excepted, 
has  at  the  present  time  reached  so  high  a  point  of 
wealth  and  civilization,  as  some  parts  of  Italy  at- 
tained four  hundred  years  ago.'* 

Before  A.  D.  1500.  The  nations  from  Iceland  to 
Italy  had  been  converted  to  Christianity.  How 
much  this  means  is  almost  beyond  thought.  It  was 
not  merely  that  some  individuals  were  Christians: 
The  public  life  and  institutions,  the  atmosphere, 
were  Christian.  All  Europe  observed  the  Christian 
Sunday.     Christian     marriage     consecrated     every 

377 


378  CHURCH  AND  MODERN  TIMES 

home.  Christian  morals  were  accepted  as  the  ideals 
and  standards  of  life.  The  civilized  world  dated 
time  from  the  birth  of  Christ.  The  nations  found 
common  ground  and  union  in  their  Christian  faith. 
In  years  to  come  men  might  effect  changes  in  the 
form  of  local  church  government,  or  of  some  theo- 
logical doctrine.  Such  changes  would  presuppose 
the  great  work  accomplished  once  and  forever.  That 
work  of  making  Europe  Christian  was  the 
work,  through  these  long  years,  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 

The  monastic  schools  had  grown  into  powerful 
universities.  A  new  architecture  had  been  created. 
The  great  cathedrals  were  already  venerable  with 
years.  Gunpowder  had  revolutionized  warfare. 
The  mariner's  compass  encouraged  exploration. 
Magna  Charta  secured  English  liberty.  Dissection 
increased  medical  knowledge.  Sculpture  rivaled  the 
days  of  ancient  Greece,  while  painting  had  reached 
a  height  attained  neither  before  nor  since.  The  tel- 
escope endorsed  the  Copernican  astronomy.  The 
magnifying  glass  aided  scientific  observation.  The 
printing  press  spread  broadcast  the  ancient  classics, 
the  poetry  of  Dante  and  Chaucer,  vernacular  transla- 
tions of  the  Bible,  as  well  as  engravings  of  the  mas- 
ter artists.  Vasco  da  Gama  had  rounded  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  and  found  the  sea-route  to  India. 
America  had  been  discovered.  Missionaries  and  ex- 
plorers had  followed  Columbus  to  the  new  world. 
All  this  was  before  the  year  1500. 

Sixteenth  Century.  The  sixteenth  century  was 
destined  to  be  one  of  revolution  in  the  old  world  and 
of  splendid  achievement  in  the  new.  In  Europe  it 
was  the  transition  period  from  feudalism  to  mon- 
archy. The  flood-tide  of  political  change  carried 
with  it  the  religious  revolutioru  In  the  so-called 
Reformation,  the  century  was  to  witness  the  disnip- 


FRUIT  OF  THOUSAND  YEARS  379 

tion  of  the  peace  and  unity  in  the  hitherto  united 
body  of  Christians  and  a  great  secession  from  the 
Church.  In  America  and  Asia  it  was  a  period  of 
missionary  activity  unequaled  since  the  days  of  St. 
Paul  or  St.  Patrick ;  an  activity  which  displayed  the 
vitality  of  the  Church  and  added  to  her  numbers 
more  than  were  lost  in  the  religious  revolutions  of 
Europe. 

Catholic  Missions.  The  discovery  of  America  iu 
1492,  the  finding  of  a  sea-route  to  India  in  1498,  the 
circumnavigation  of  the  globe  by  Magellan  and  del 
Cano  a  few  years  later,  opened  new  and  promising 
fields  for  apostolic  zeal.  The  men  sent  by  Catholic 
Portugal  and  Spain  in  search  of  unknown  lands, 
were  often  as  desirous  of  extending  the  dominion  of 
Christ's  kingdom  on  earth,  as  of  enlarging  the  do- 
mains of  their  nations.  On  their  numerous  voyages 
they  were  accompanied  by  zealous  missionaries 
whose  supreme  ambition  was  the  conversion  of  the 
pagan  peoples,  they  should  visit,  to  the  light  of  the 
Gospel. 

Under  Portuguese  auspices,  Dominican  friars 
opened  a  mission  on  the  Congo  in  western  Africa, 
about  1491.  In  the  far  east,  St.  Francis  Xavier 
(1506-1552)  merited  the  title  ''Apostle  of  India  and 
Japan.''  In  the  Philippine  Islands,  Christianity 
achieved  an  almost  complete  triumph  over  pagan- 
ism. In  the  exploration  of  the  continent  found  by 
Columbus,  children  of  the  Church  played  a  glorious 
part,  both  as  explorers  and  as  missionaries.  Witk, 
the  flag  of  the  Catholic  King  went  the  Cross  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Columbus  named  the  first  land  of  the  new 
world  upon  which  he  set  foot,  San  Salvador,  Holy 
Savior,  in  honor  of  His  Divine  Majesty  Jesus  Christ. 
He  planted  a  cross  on  the  shore  and  knelt  in  thanks- 
giving to  God.  This  was  October  12,  1492,  Twelve 
priests  and  a  bishop  accompanied  Columbus  on  his 


380  CHURCH  AND  MODERN  TIMES 

second  voyage,  and  consecrated  the  first  Christian 
chapel  on  Hispaniola,  January  6,  1494. 

Catholic  Discoverers.  Five  years  after  the  discov- 
ery of  Columbus  his  countryman,  John  Cabot,  in  the 
service  of  the  English  King  Henry  VII,  discovered 
North  America  and  raised  the  cross  and  the  flag  of 
England,  which  was  still  Catholic,  on  the  coast  of 
Labrador.  A  year  later,  with  his  son,  Sebastian 
Cabot  explored  our  Atlantic  sea  coast. 

The  Portuguese  Cabral  in  1500  reached  Brazil. 
The  King  of  Portugal  followed  up  this  discovery 
and  a  year  later  sent  three  vessels  in  command  of  the 
Florentine  Amerigo  Vespucci,  to  whom  fell  the  honor 
of  giving  his  name  to  the  new  world.  Balboa,  the 
Spanish  adventurer,  discovered  the  Pacific  Ocean  in 
1513,  and  with  his  men  fell  upon  his  knees  to  thank 
God  for  the  favor. 

Catholic  Explorers.  Ponce  de  Leon  in  1513  named 
Florida  in  honor  of  Easter,  called  in  Spanish  Pa^cua 
Florida.  In  1519  Hernando  Cortes  burned  his  ships 
behind  him  and  with  four  hundred  and  fifty  men 
marched  to  the  conquest  of  Mexico.  One  of  his  first 
acts  was  to  reclaim  the  savages  from  their  atrocious 
idolatry,  which  was  accompanied  by  human  sacrifices 
and  cannibalism.  In  1524,  twelve  missionaries  were 
laboring  for  their  conversion.  Says  Prescott: 
*'They  began  their  preaching  through  interpreters, 
till  they  had  acquired  a  competent  knowledge  of  the 
language.  They  opened  schools  and  founded  col- 
leges in  which  the  native  youth  were  instructed  in 
profane  as  well  as  in  Christian  learning.  The  ardor 
of  the  Indian  neophyte  emulated  that  of  his  teacher. 
In  a  few  years  every  vestige  of  the  primitive  teocallis 
was  effaced  from  the  land."  In  1547  Mexico  had 
an  archbishop  with  six  suffragan  bishops.  A  hun- 
dred churches  were  built  by  the  one  Franciscan  lay- 
brother.  Peter  of  Ghent.    While  the  Franciscans  bap- 


FRUIT  OP  THOUSAND  YEARS  381 

tized  thousands,  the  Dominicans  preached,  and  the 
Jesuits  founded  colleges,  including  the  tJniversity 
of  Mexico. 

In  1540  De  Soto  discovered  the  Mississippi  and 
traversed  our  southern  states.  In  the  same  year  Cor- 
onado  followed  the  Franciscan  Mark  to  the  canyons 
of  New  Mexico,  where  forty  years  later  the  Francis- 
cans founded  Santa  Fe.  The  second  oldest  city  in 
the  United  States  was  thus  named  for  our  Holy 
Faith,  as  the  oldest  city  was  named  (1565)  for  its 
champion  St.  Augustine.  As  early  as  1514,  Leo  X 
founded  the  first  American  Bishopric  in  Colombia. 

Las  Casas.  Among  the  early  mission^tries  was  the 
Dominican,  Bartholomew  Las  Casas,  the  warmest 
friend  of  the  Indians  and  the  champion  of  their  lib- 
erty. Las  Casas,  the  first  priest  ordained  in  the  new 
world,  came  to  America  with  Columbus  in  1498. 
*'The  whole  of  his  future  life,''  says  Irving,  **a  space 
exceeding  sixty  years,  was  devoted  to  vindicating 
the  cause  and  endeavoring  to  ameliorate  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  natives.  As  a  missionary ^he  traversed 
the  wilderness  of  the  new  w^orld  in  various  direc- 
tions, seeking  to  convert  and  civilize  them ;  as  a  pro- 
tector and  champion  he  made  several  voyages  to 
Spain,  vindicated  their  wrongs  before  courts  and 
monarchs,  wrote  volumes  in  their  behalf,  and  exhib- 
ited a  zeal  and  constancy  and  integrity  worthy  of  an 
Apostle." 

"When  Spanish  gold-hunters  would  enslave  the 
Indians,  Pope  Paul  III  defended  their  liberty;  and 
Cardinal  Ximenes  in  1516,  while  Regent  of  Spain, 
sent  a  commission  of  three  priests  with  full  power 
to  reform  the  abuses,  and  appointed  Las  Casas  "Pro- 
tector General  of  the  Indians.''  At  the  same  time 
the  Cardinal  Regent  peremptorily  forbade  all  and 
every  importation  of  negro  slaves  into  the  new  world. 

The  Reductions.    King  Philip  III  of  Spain  author- 


382         CHURCH  AND  MODERN  flMES 

ized  the  Jesuit  missionaries  not  only  to  preserve  the 
natives  from  slavery,  but  to  gather  their  converts 
into  settlements  by  themselves  and  so  separate  them 
from  the  colonists.  Thus  arose  those  famous  Re- 
ductions or  settlements  of  Christian  Indians,  which 
no  Spaniard  could  enter  without  permission.  There 
have  not  been  wanting  unscrupulous  writers  who 
blamed  the  Church  for  the  ill-treatment  of  the  In- 
dians and  aT3Cused  the  missionaries  of  cooperating 
with  adventurers  to  enslave  and  exploit  them.  The 
facts  of  history  give  the  lie  to  these  ungrateful  cal- 
umnies. 

Summary  of  Ranke.  The  work  performed  by  the 
Catholic  missionaries  in  Mexico,  Central  and  South 
America  in  the  early  16th  century,  was  indeed  a  vast 
as  well  as  holy  one.  Their  work  has  remained. 
While  in  every  country  there  are  always  individuals 
who  practice  no  religion  and  are  even  antagonistic 
to  the  means  by  which  religious  faith  and  feeling 
are  fostered,  the  people  of  these  countries,  as  a  peo- 
ple, both  of  Indian  and  Spanish  blood,  are  to  this 
day  devout  Catholics.^ 

Ranke  speaks  of  the  harvest  of  the  missionaries' 
toil,  one  'hundred  years  after  the  landing  of  Colum- 
bus. **In  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury,'' he  writes,  *'we  find  the  stately  edifice  of 
the  Catholic  Church  fully  reared  in  South  America. 

^  In  1897  an  outrageous  attack  on  the  morals  of  the  clergy  of  Chile 
began  to  go  the  rounds  of  the  Protestant  press  and  pulpit,  in  a  docu- 
ment which  pretended  to  be  an  Encyclical  of  Pope  Leo  XIII,  addressed 
to  the  Archbishop  of  Chile.  This  alleged  encyclical  was  printed  by  the 
South  American  Missionary  Society  of  London ;  was  incorporated  into 
his  Geography  of  Protestant  Missions,  by  Harlan  Beach  of  Yale  College; 
and  was  quoted  by  Dr.  Rob't  Speer,  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  an  address  before  the  Rochester 
Convention  of  the  Students'  Volunteer  Movement,  as  evidence  of  the 
need  of  mission  work  among  our  South  American  neighbors.  The  pres- 
ent writer  took  up  the  matter  with  Dr.  Speer,  and  only  after  a  cor- 
respondence covering  more  than  two  years,  succeeded  in  forcing  Dr. 
Speer  to  acknowledge  that  the  document  quoted  as  a  papal  encyclical 
was  the  forgery  of  a  renegade  Chilean.  This  is  a  sample  of  the  methods 
used  by  some  "respectable"  people  and  of  the  value  of  their  stories 
about  Catholic  affairs. 


FRUIT  OF  THOUSAND  YEARS  383 

There  were  five  archbishoprics,  twenty-seven  bishop- 
rics, four  hundred  monasteries  and  innumerable 
priests.  Magnificent  cathedrals  had  arisen.  The 
Jesuits  taught  grammar  and  the  liberal  arts,  and  a 
theological  seminary  was  connected  with  their  col- 
lege of  San  Udefonso.  All  branches  of  theological 
study  were  taught  in  the  Universities  of  Mexico  and 
Lima.^  Meanwhile  the  mendicant  orders  had  begun 
steadily  to  propagate  Christianity  over  the  whole 
continent  of  South  America.  Conquests  gave  place 
to  missions,  and  missions  gave  birth  to  civilization. 
The  monks  taught  the  natives  the  arts  of  reading 
and  singing,  sowing  and  reaping,  planting  trees  and 
building  houses;  and  they  in  return  were  regarded 
with  profound  veneration  and  affection  by  the  na- 
tives.'^  The  contemplation  of  these  astonishing  re- 
sults caused  Macaulay  to  observe:  **The  acquisi- 
tions of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  new  world  have 
more  than. compensated  her  for  what  she  lost  in  the 
old.'^ 

The  children  of  the  Church  were  busy  likewise  in 
North  America.  The  attention  of  France  was  early 
turned  to  the  New  World.  Within  seven  years  of 
the  discovery  of  America  the  fisheries  of  Newfound- 
land were  known  to  the  hardy  seamen  of  Brittany 
and  Normandy.  In  1524  the  Florentine  Verrazano, 
in  the  employ  of  France,  reached  the  coast  of  Caro- 
lina and  examined  the  shore  as  far  as  Nova  Scotia, 
including  the  harbors  of  New  York  and  Newport. 
His  narrative  contains  the  earliest  original  account 
now  extant  of  the  coast  of  the  United  States. 

Caxtier.  Ten  years  later  came  Jacques  Cartier, 
pious  and  kind  as  he  was  brave,  a  noble  type  of  the 
Catholic  Explorer.  His  is  the  glory  of  discovering 
the  St.  Lawrence  and  naming  it,  as  well  as  Montreal. 
His  last  act  on  leaving  France  was  to  assemble  his 

'Founded  in  1557. 


384         CHURCH  AND  MODERN  TIMES 

crew  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Malo,  to  pray  God's 
blessing  on  his  enterprise.  His  first  act  in  the  new- 
world  was  to  raise  a  cross  thirty  feet  high  at  Gaspe 
Bay,  in  thanksgiving  to  Divine  Providence. 

Champlain.  Another  glorious  path-finder  was 
Samuel  de  Champlain,  a  brave  soldier,  a  tireless  and 
scientific  explorer,  whose  love  of  France  was  equaled 
only  by  his  desire  to  Christianize  and  civilize  the  In- 
dians. The  founder  of  Quebec,  the  discoverer  of 
Lakes  Huron,  Ontario  and  Champlain,  for  almost 
thirty  years  he  traveled  over  the  vast  jiorthern  wilds 
from  the  Kennebec  to  the  Strait  of  Mackinac,  and 
with  the  aid  of  Franciscan  and  Jesuit  missionaries 
established  missions  and  trading  posts  along  the  riv- 
ers and  lakes.  He  is  well  called  the  Father  of  New 
France. 

Heroes  of  God.  The  missionary  priests  sent  by 
France  to  the  wilds  of  America  played  a  part  in  the 
early  history  of  our  country  which  invests  them  with 
immortal  fame.  Finished  scholars,  zealous  apostles, 
enthusiastic  explorers,  humble  Christians,  all  at  once, 
their  lives  spent  for  science  and  for  souls,  leave  them 
heroes  worthy  of  the  highest  admiration.  Thorpe, 
in  his  History  of  the  American  People,  sums  up  their 
work:  ''They  penetrated  the  Indian  towns,  lived 
with  the  savages,  bore  unparalleled  hardships,  minis- 
tered to  the  wretched,  instilled  the  teachings  of 
Christianity  into  the  minds  of  any  who  would  give 
them  a  hearing,  and  thought  no  danger  or  sacrifice 
great  enough  to  deter  them  from  carrying  on  their 
work.  The  Indian  world  was  their  parish.  Wher- 
ever they  went  they  made  keen  observations  of  all 
they  saw,  and  reported  to  their  superiors  in  France 
in  a  remarkable  series  of  letters  called  the  Jesuit  Re- 
lations. They  carefully  mapped  the  scenes  of  their 
labors ;  they  journeyed  all  over  the  valleys  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  Mississippi ;  they  discovered  all  the  im- 


FRUIT  OF  THOUSAND  YEARS  385 

portant  lakes  and  tributary  streams  of  the  great  val- 
ley. Although  the  fathers  served  so  faithfully,  most 
of  them  met  violent  deaths  at  the  hands  of  the  sav- 
ages whom  they  had  come  to  help." 

Jesuit  Relations.  Only  the  volumes  of  their  Re- 
lations can  adequately  describe  their  labors.  The 
Jesuit  Relations  recently  collected,  translated  and 
republished  in  some  seventy  large  volumes  is  a 
monument  of  supreme  historical  and  scientific  inter- 
est. To  these  Catholic  Missionaries  of  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  we  must  turn  for  the  early 
history  of  our  country.  Parkman  and  other  histor- 
ical writers  depended  upon  such  of  these  original 
sources,  then  scattered  through  the  libraries  of  the 
world,  as  they  could  consult.  In  their  present  col- 
lected form  they  constitute  the  largest  body  of  early 
American  history,  the  only  data  of  their  sort,  without 
whose  aid  no  future  historian  can  proceed  to  his 
work. 

Of  these  early  French  missionaries  to  America, 
Parkman  writes:  *' Peaceful,  benign,  beneficent 
were  the  weapons  of  this  conquest.  France  aimed 
to  subdue  not  by  sword  but  by  the  cross ;  not  to 
overwhelm  and  crush  the  nations,  she  invaded, 
but  to  convert,  to  civilize  and  embrace  them  among 
her  children." 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  REFORMATION 
81.    RISE  OP  THE  REFORMATION. 

While  Spain  and  France  were  exploring  America, 
planting  their  banners  of  religion  and  civilization 
among  its  inhabitants  and  enriching  their  com- 
merce with  its  treasures,  England  and  Germany, 
and  in  a  measure  all  Europe,  were  torn  with  polit- 
ical and  religious  revolution.  The  sixteenth  cen- 
tury saw  the  breaking  up  of  the  unity  which  had 
been  the  strength  of  the  Christian  Church  since  the 
time  of  Christ.  It  was  the  century  of  the  so-called 
Eeformation. 

The  Christian  family,  under  the  leadership  of 
the  Popes,  had  worked  together  for  the  spread  of 
Christ's  religion  among  the  Pagans,  and  for  its  pres- 
ervation in  the  face  of  Saracens  and  Turks.  A  pub- 
lic opinion  which  was  the  mind  of  a  united 
Christendom,  had  been  a  moral  force  able  to  influ- 
ence legislation  and  cause  unworthy  monarchs,  how- 
ever powerful,  to  tremble  before  its  frown.  Untorn 
by  religious  dissension.  Christians  had  reared  their 
cathedrals  and  flocked  to  their  universities;  had 
conceived  the  highest  ideals  of  art  and  united  to 
secure  for  the  glory  of  God  and  His  Church  the 
services  of  the  greatest  genius.  Till  the  second  dec- 
ade of  the  sixteenth  century.  Christian  Europe  was 
still    united    under    the    successors    of    St.    Peter. 

386 


lUSE  OF  REFORMATION  387 

Christendom  was  One  and  Catholic.  Then  came  its 
disruption,  through  the  political  and  religious  revo- 
lutions that  fill  the  century,  known  as  the  Reforma- 
tion period.  '  ^ 

Reformation.  In  introducing  his  lecture  on  this 
period  Guizot  says:  '*I  shall  use  the  word  Refor- 
mation as  a  simple,  ordinary  term  synonymous  wuth 
religious  revolution  and  without  attaching  to  it 
any  opinion.'*  In  this,  historians  generally  agree 
with  the  French  author;  and  with  him  too,  realize 
the  difficulty  of  getting  any  one  theory  that  will  ac- 
count for  all  the  facts  of  this  troubled  era.  The  time 
from  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation  period  in 
1520,  when  Luther  publicly  burned  the  Bull  of  Leo 
X,  to  its  end  in  the  treaty  of  Westphalia  in  1648,  is 
marked  by  a  chaos  of  interests,  religious,  political, 
personal,  national,  noble  and  ignoble,  all  acting  and 
"reacting  on  one  another  and  becoming  modified  and 
changed  by  their  contact  and  friction. 

General' Effects.  *'The  first  and  greatest  effect 
of  the  religious  revolution,'*  says  Guizot,^  "was  to 
create  in  lEurope  two  classes  of  states,  the  Catholic 
and  the  Protestant,  and  to  set  them  against  each 
other  and  to  force  them  into  hostilities."  It  is  sig- 
nificant that  the  aspect  which  strikes  the  historian 
as  the  first  and  greatest  effect,  is  a  political  one. 
And  indeed,  more  than  is  popularly  imagined,  the 
Reformation  was  a  political  movement. 

The  greatest  immediate  religious  effect  was  the 
disruption  of  the  Christian  unity  of  Europe.  While 
the  great  body  of  Christians  remained  loyal  to  the 
Pope  as  the  successor  of  St.  Peter  and  the  visible 
head  of  the  Church,  and  so  preserved  their*  Catholic 
character,  national  churches  and  independent  sects 
were  formed  in  several  countries.     The  one  and  only 

^  History  of  Civilization,  Lect.  12. 


388  THE  EEFORMATION 

common  mark  of  the  Protestant  sects,  as  they  came 
to  be  called,  was  their  revolt  against  the  authority 
of  the  Church  as  centered  in  the  Pope,  and  their  con- 
sequent withdrawal  from  Catholic  unity.  A  second 
religious  effect,  not  so  immediately  apparent,  but 
none  the  greater  for  that,  w^as  the  opening  the  way 
for  rationalism  and  individualism  in  religion,  by 
the  breaking  down  of  religious  authority. 

The  events  incidental  to  this  disruption  of  the 
Christian  unity,  form  one  of  the  saddest  chapters 
in  history.  All  the  monstrous  evils  of  religious  fa- 
naticism and  hate  were  aroused  and  called  into  play. 
Brother  was  set  against  brother.  Nations  were  torn 
asunder.  Progress  was  thrown  back  for  genera- 
tions. 

Indulgences.  The  rise  of  the  Reformation  is  pop- 
ularly associated  with  Luther's  attack  on  Indulgen- 
ces. Leo  X  announced  an  indulgence,  to  be  gained 
under  the  usual  conditions,  by  those  who  contributed 
toward  the  new  St.  Peter's,  the  great  world  Cathe- 
dral then  building  at  Rome.  The  Archbishop  of 
Mainz  was  delegated  to  receive  the  offerings  of  the 
German  people.  As  his  deputy  the  Archbishop  ap- 
pointed John  Tetzel,  a  Dominican  monk.  The 
charge  is  made  that  Tetzel  or  his  assistants  carried 
out  the  commission  in  a  way  to  give  rise  to  great 
scandal.  Writers  hostile  to  the  Church  have  mis- 
represented the  nature  of  indulgences  -  and  claimed 
that  the  Church  sold  indulgences.  Indulgences 
were  never  sold.  History  exonerates  Tetzel,  a 
learned  and  good  man,  from  the  calumnies  of  his  en- 
emies. If  any  of  his  helpers  allowed  their  enthu- 
siasm to*  run  away  with  their  prudence,  it  was  a 
fault  that  could  easily  happen;  but  it  was  not  the 
fault  of  the  Church.  If  some  of  the  ignorant  forgot 
the  spiritual  conditions  of  the  indulgence,  they  were 

'For  Doctrine  of  Indulgences,   see  No.   56. 


RISE  OF  REFORMATION  *     389 

not  unlike  many  in  our  own  day  who  console  them- 
selves with  their  own  interpretation  of  the  text, 
** Charity  covers  a  multitude  of  sins/*  At  any  rate 
the  alleged  abuses  and  lator  the  very  doctrine  of 
indulgences  were  attacked  by  Martin  Luther,  a 
priest  and  professor  at  the  University  of  Witten- 
berg. 

Occasion.  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  that  the 
Augustinian  monk,  Luther,  was  moved  to  find  fault 
with  the  doings  of  the  Dominican  Tetzel,  through 
jealousy  of  a  rival  society.  The  Augustinians  had 
enjoyed  the  honors  and  rewards  arising  from  the 
charge  of  similar  and  earlier  work  in  Germany ;  and 
probably  looked  with  no  friendly  eye  on  the  fact 
that  the  present  important  commission  was  en- 
trusted to  the  Dominicans.  Leo  X  seems  to  have 
had  some  such  idea,  when  he  described  the  first 
phases  of  the  trouble  as  a  **mere  squabble  of 
monks. '*  This  view  gains  further  countenance  from 
the  falling  away  with  Luther  of  many  of  the  Ger- 
man Augustinians  while  there  was  no  such  defec- 
tion among  the  Dominicans. 

The  jealousy  of  two  monastic  societies  or  the  dis- 
cussion of  an  abstruse  point  of  theology  might  be 
the  occasion  of  the  outburst.  They  are  inadequate 
as  the  real  cause  of  an  international  revolution. 
There  were  soon  larger  influences  moving  Luther 
than  the  interests  of  his  Order.  The  Emperor  Max- 
imilian, an  avowed  enemy  of  the  Papacy,  watching 
the  '^ squabble  of  monks,*'  saw  in  the  fiery  and  dar- 
ing Augustinian,  a  man  who  could  be  held  as  a 
threat  over  the  Pope;  and  advised  Frederick,  the 
Elector  of  Saxony,  to  take  care  of  Luther's  inter- 
ests, as  there  might  come  a  time  when  he  could  be 
used.  Frederick,  the  most  powerful  prince  in  Ger- 
many after  the  Emperor,  was  already  the  friend  of 
Luther,  who  was  his  political  subject  and  taught  in 


390  THE  EEFORMATION 

his  University.  Indeed,  according  to  Ranke,^  it  was 
Frederick  who  had  encouraged  Luther  to  attack 
the , indulgence  gifts  for  the  building  of  St.  Peter's, 
and  guaranteed  him  ample  protection  from  harm. 

82.    PREPARING  THE  WAY. 

The  religious  agitation  begun  almost  incidentally 
by  Luther,  coincided  with  a  vast  political  revolu- 
tion which  would  carry  the  religious  strife  along  by 
its  own  force,  magnify  it,  modify  it,  use  it  and  abuse 
it,  as  circumstances  arose.  The  political  revolution 
involved  the  transition  from  feudalism  to  monarchy. 
The  feudal  system  which  grew  up  in  Europe  in^the 
ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  had  seen  its  day. 
Throughout  those  mediaeval  times,  the  states  of 
western  Europe  had  formed  a  sort  of  Christian  com- 
monwealth, with  the  Emperor  as  its  political,  the 
Pope  as  its  spiritual  head.  National  consciousness, 
with  consequent  national  independence,  were  now 
developing.  With  the  rise  of  nationalism,  many 
relations  of  State  and  Church  as  well  as  of  all  soci- 
ety, which  had  developed  on  the  old  feudal  forms, 
had  to  be  readjusted  to  the  new  monarchical  con- 
ditions. When  Maximilian  died  in  1519,  the  polit- 
ical destinies  of  Europe  were  largely  in  the  hands 
of  three  youthful  princes,  Henry  VIH  of  England, 
in  his  twenty-ninth  year ;  Francis  I  of  France,  in  his 
twenty-sixth,  and  Charles  V,  who  succeeded  as 
Emperor,  in  his  nineteenth  year. 

(Jermany  and  Italy.  The  political  struggles  of 
Germany  and  Italy  favored  the  Teutonic  secession 
from  the  Papacy.  The  Emperor  Maximilian,  true  to 
the  traditions  of  Germany  since  the  days  of  Barbar- 
ossa,  cherished  the  scheme, of  conquering  and  domi- 
nating   Italy.     Pope    Julius    II    had    thrown    the 

'  Mediaeval   and   Modern  History. 


PREPARING  THE  WAY  391 

influence  of  his  position  to  the  support  of  Italian 
independence,  and  aided  the  Italian  forces  to  drive 
the  German  and  French  invaders  from  the  coveted 
peninsula.  Maximilian,  swearing  enmity  to  the 
Papacy,  united  with  Louis  XII  of  France,  in  conven- 
ing a  schismatical  council,  a  mimic  assembly  of  four 
cardinals,  who  went  through  the  absurd  formality 
of  suspending  Julius  II.  This  was  in  1512.  The 
Pope  answered  with  a  more  effective  excommunica- 
tion of  the  king.  The  memory  of  ancient  disputes 
between  the  Papacy  and  the  Empire  were  revived 
and  exaggerated.  The  struggle  of  the  Guelphs  and 
the  Ghibel lines,  the  conflict  about  investitures  which 
had  brought  Henry  IV  of  Germany  to  the  feet  of 
Gregory  VII  at  Canossa,  were  brought  up  again 
and  distorted  by  passion  before  the  public  mind. 
The  German  people,  who  in  truth  owed  almost  ev- 
ierything,  their  liberties  included,  to  the  interposition 
of  the  Popes  checking  the  usurpations  and  despo- 
tism of  their  emperors,  were  told  that  the  primacy 
of  the  Pope  was  subversive  of  German  freedom. 
Italian  politics  was  skillfully  confounded  with  Cath- 
olic Christianity,  whose  capital  chanced  to  be  at 
Rome.  Chagrin  at  their  failure  in  securing  domin- 
ion over  Italy,  made  hatred  of  the  Pope,  who  had 
assisted  the  Italian  princes  to  defend  their  country, 
seem  to  many  Germans,  a  national  virtue.  More- 
over German  princes  coveted  for  their  own  adven- 
tures the  money  they  saw  going  to  Rome  to  build 
St.  Peter's  and  support  the  Papacy. 

Avignon.  The  opening  sixteenth  century  also 
found  the  influence  of  the  Papacy  weakened  by  the 
Babylonish  Captivity  at  Avignon  and  consequent 
Western  Schism,  In  the  early  fourteenth  century, 
Philip  the  Fair  of  France,  whom  Macaulay  describes 
as  **a  despot  by  position,  a  despot  by  temperament, 
stem,  jmplacable    and   unscrupulous,    equally   pre- 


392  THE  EEFORMATION 

pared  for  violence  or  for  chicanery,"  had  seized  by 
treachery  Pope  Boniface  VIII,  whom  the  same  writer 
describes  as  "one  of  the  most  high-minded  of  the 
Roman  Pontiffs,"  and  so  foully  outraged  him,  that 
the  venerable  priest,  then  eighty-six  years  old,  died 
of  grief  and  horror.  France  then  succeeded  in  hold- 
ing the  Popes  at  Avignon  for  seventy  years,  till 
Gregory  XI  returned  to  Rome  in  1377.  During  this 
period,  the  Papacy,  which  had  always  been  counted 
cosmopolitan  and  supernational,  was  looked  upon 
as  unduly  dominated  by  the  French  court.  The 
mingling  of  the  Popes  in  the  affairs  of  other  nations 
was  resented  as  the  interference  of  a  foreign  and 
inimical  power.  The  spirit  of  nationalism  was  thus 
introduced  into  religious  relations,  and  the  Christian 
ideal  of  Catholic  unity  was  obscured. 

Western  Schism.  Immediately  after  the  captiv- 
ity of  Avignon  and  indeed  through  it,  came  the 
baneful  Western  Schism.  When,  on  the  death  of 
Gregory  XI,  the  Cardinals  at  Rome  elected,  as  his 
successor,  the  ascetic  Urban  VI,  the  French  Cardi- 
nals declaring  his  election  invalid,  chose  Robert  de 
Geneva,  who  called  himself  Clement  VII  and  re- 
sided at  Avignon. 

This  scandal  did  great  harm,  as  many  good  people 
could  not  be  certain  at  the  time,  which  of  the  two 
claimants  was  the  lawful  Pope.  Each  had  a  fol- 
lowing of  several  princes  and  their  nations.  A  gen- 
eral discontent  prevailed  throughout  Christendom 
and  engendered  a  loud  demand  for  a  speedy  termi- 
nation of  the  calamitous  schism.  Religious  men  of 
both  parties  labored  earnestly  for  union  and  peace. 
In  the  hope  of  ending  the  trouble,  prelates  of  both 
*' obediences"  met  at  Pisa  in  1409  and  with  the  un- 
derstanding that  the  rival  claimants  would  both  re- 
sign, they  elected  Cardinal  Philargi  as  Alexander 
V.     As  no  one  resigned,  the  Church,  to  her  dismay, 


PREPAIUNG  THE  WAY  393 

now  had  three  instead  of  two  claimants  to  the  Pa- 
pacy. Happily  this  schism  was  ended  at  the  Coun- 
cil of  Constance  in  1415,  when,  for  the  sake  of  peace, 
the  real  Pope  and  the  more  serious  pretender  both 
voluntarily  resigned;  the  colorless  claim  of  Peter 
de  Luna  was  set  aside;  and  Martin  V  was  elected 
and  acknowledged  by  all  as  the  one  undisputed, 
visible  head  of  the  Church. 

It  is  true  that  during  this  generation  of  rival 
claimants,  there  was  one  and  only  one  Pope.  It  is 
true  that  the  whole  unfortunate  schism  in  no  way 
affected  the  Constitution  of  the  Church  or  the  un- 
broken line  of  the  successors  of  St.  Peter.  Some 
years  ago  Colorado  had  two  men  each  clariming  to 
have  been  lawfully  elected  its  Governor.  The 
Hayes  and  Tilden  contest  of  1876,  shows  how  easily 
a  similar  misunderstanding  could  occur  in  the  Pres- 
idency of  the  United  States.  But  it  is  also  true  that 
the  schism  of  the  fifteenth  century  did  much  to 
strengthen  antagonism  toward  Rome,  to  familiarize 
contempt  for  its  authority,  to  obscure  in  men's 
minds  the  fact  that  the  Constitution  of  the  Church 
is  the  work  of  her  Divine  Founder  Jesus  Christ  and 
the  Papacy  is  part  of  that  constitution.  And  so  the 
schism,  though  it  ended  a  hundred  years  before 
the  rise  of  Luther,  helped  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
secession  from  the  Papacy  which  is  called  the  Ref- 
ormation. 

Investiture  of  Bishops.  The  cause  of  perhaps  the 
most  frequent  and  bitter  quarrels  between  the 
Popes  and  the  Kings,  had  been  the  matter  of  ap- 
pointing Bishops  in  the  various  countries.  In  the 
ages  of  faith,  a  Bishop's  station  was  lofty  indeed. 
His  moral  power  was  immense.  To  the  king,  there- 
fore, and  his  civilian  counselors,  the  seating  of  a 
creature  of  their  own  in  the  Bishop 's  chair  was  some- 
thing to  be  aimed  at  and  whenever  possible  achieved. 


394  THE  REFORMATION 

In  the  unscrupulous  circle  of  a  royal  court  the  meas- 
ure of  a  good  episcopal  candidate  was  political 
rather  than  spiritual  fitness.  A  safe  man  who  could 
be  counted  on  to  do  blindly  the  king's  bidding,  or 
at  least  not  to  interfere  with  his  schemes,  however 
villainous,  was  the  man  desired.  The  Pope's  meas- 
ure was  different. 

In  the  alliance  of  the  Church  with  the  State,  which 
was  long  helpful  alike  to  religion  and  civili- 
zation, many  concessions  had  been  made  to 
princes  in  the  way  of  proposing  and  vetoing 
candidates  for  ecclesiastical  office.  But  when  feu- 
dal lords,  claiming  the  right  of  investiture,  were 
willing  to  fill  episcopal  sees  with  political  favorites, 
or  sell  them  to  simoniacal  ambition,  or  keep  them 
vacant  for  years  in  order  themselves  to  pocket  the 
revenues  which  should  support  charity  and  religion, 
the  Popes  were  forced  to  fight  them  for  the  very 
life  of  the  Church. 

In  Germany  especially,  many  bishops  were  feudal 
lords  with  great  estates  and  high  rank.  Others 
were  to  a  great  extent  dependent  on  feudal  suzer- 
ains. At  times  they  could  be  and  had  been  of  great 
service  to  the  •Church.  But  worldly  power  and 
ambition  often  deprived  them  of  both  the  will  and 
the  ability  to  take  a  proper  stand  against  princely 
wrong-doing  or  to  aid  the  Popes  in  executing  the 
reformatory  decrees  of  Councils. 

In  this  dependent  state  of  the  episcopate,  the 
Popes  had  been  forced  more  and  more  to  come  for- 
ward, as  Bishop  Spalding  says,  as  the  ''spiritual 
dictators  of  Europe."  As  the  activity  of  the  Holy 
See  became  more  direct  and  appeals  to  Rome  more 
frequent,  bishops  whose  ordinary  authority  seemed 
in  a  measure  superseded,  grew  lukewarm  in  their 
devotion  to  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  and  not  indis- 
posed to  join  with  temporal  rulers,  to  whom  they 


PREPARING  THE  WAY  395 

often  owed  their  position,  in  protesting  again  what 
they  deemed  an  undue  assumption  of  power.  A 
man  cannot  serve  two  masters.  All  this  had  its  ef- 
fect in  loss  of  the  proper  conception  of  and  conse- 
quent devotion  to  the  central  authority  of  Rome. 
Doubtless,  too,  the  devotion  to  the  Holy  See  was 
weakened  by  the  faults  of  some  of  those  to  whom 
was  entrusted  the  very  Roman  citadel.  The  many 
splendid  kingly  qualities  of  an  Alexander  VI  could 
not  mak'C  up  for  his  lack  of  more  apostolic  fitness. 
His  election  at  the  opening  of  the  16th  century,  sug- 
gests spiritually  drowsy  sentinels  on  the  watch-tow- 
ers of  the  Church. 

National  Churches.  With  the  development  of  na- 
tional monarchy  came  the  dream  of  national 
churches.  It  was  a  petty  idea — far  less  noble  than 
the  old  Catholic  idea  of  a  world-wide  brotherhood 
of  men  under  the  fatherhood  of  God.  It  did  not 
tend  to  religious  freedom.  On  the  contrary,  one  of 
the  catchwords  of  the  period  was:  ''Cujus  regio, 
ejus  religio,"  which  may  be  translated,  the  religion 
of  the  prince  is  the  religion  of  his  people.  The  age 
was  not  yet  able  to  conceive  of  a  state  without  an 
official  church.  Our  own  condition  of  separation  of 
Church  and  State  would  come  only  wuth  time.  Prin- 
ces, restive  under  the  moral  checks  and  re- 
straints exercised  by  the  spiritual  father  of  Chris- 
tendom and  the  public  opinion  which  his  influence 
could  create,  were  more  than  ready  to  listen  to  any 
means  that  might  curb  the  power  of  the  Pope. 

A  sort  of  national  Catholicism,  without  a  central 
head,  had  been  suggested.  The  irregular  councils 
of  Pisa  and  Constance  were  ready  to  proceed  with- 
out Rome.  This  would  leave  each  king  practically 
the  head  of  the  church  as  well  as  of  the  state,  in 
his  realm.  Thus  Henry  VIII  had  the  English  par- 
liament  accept   his   spiritual   supremacy   over   the 


396  THE  REFORMATION 

Church  of  England  in  1534.  The  Czar  of  Russia 
enjoys  this  uncurbed  dual  power  to  this  day,  much 
to  the  misfortune  of  his  people.  No  longer  would 
the  unwelcome  warnings  of  far-off  Roman  Pontiff 
intrude  upon  a  prince's  plans  of  lust  or  despotism, 
like  the  voice  of  conscience  with  its  troublesome, 
''Thou  shalt  not.''    It  seemed  a  pleasant  dream. 

83.    PRINCES    SPREAD    THE    REFORMATION. 

In  1517  Luther  had  nailed  his  ninety-five  theses 
on  the  church  door  at  Wittenberg,  as  was  the  cus- 
tom of  scholars  ready  to  defend  their  ideas  in  de- 
bate. It  was  only  three  years  later,  in  1520,  that 
Leo  X  issued  the  bull  cutting  off  the  German  monk 
from  membership  in  the  Church.  Luther  was  not 
condemned  for  his  complaints  against  abuses,  which 
formed  the  matter  of  his  first  utterances.  When 
the  Church  had  shown  herself  ready  and  anxious 
to  correct  abuses,  Luther,  urged  on  doubtless  by 
politicians  who  were  determined  to  fight  the  Church 
somehow,  attacked  the  whole  doctrine  of  indulgen- 
ces as  well  as  other  truths.  Throwing  in  his  lot 
with  the  worldly  rulers  entirely,  he  published  his 
''Address  to  the  Christian  Nobility  of  the  German 
Nation,"  in  which,  as  the  Britannica  says,  he 
frankly  confesses  that  his  reliance  is  upon  them. 

Appeal  to  Princes.  Knowing  the  weak  spot  of 
the  princes,  Luther  declaimed  against  the  paying  of 
annates  to  Rome.  "Why  does  not  the  Pope,  who 
is  richer  than  Croesus,  build  St.  Peter's  with  his 
own  money?"  This  cry  was  wrong  in  fact,  for  the 
papal  treasury  was  empty ;  and  in  principle,  for  the 
glory  of  St.  Peter's  Church  was  to  be  precisely  that 
it  was  the  offering  of  all  Christians  throughout  the 
world.  But  it  appealed  to  the  passions  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  it  echoed  the  wishes  of  the  princes,  and 


SPREAD  BY  PRINCES  397 

flattered  a  greed  which  Luther  himself  would  live 
to  feel  and  anathematize. 

When  Luther  was  given  the  letters  excommuni- 
cating him  unless  he  retracted  the  heretical  and 
scandalous  propositions  pointed  out  in  his  numerous 
writings,  he  thought  it  wise  publicly  to  burn  the 
document  amid  a  great  crowd  of  students  and  peo- 
ple at  the  gate  of  Wittenberg.  The  Reformation  as 
a  party  had  begun. 

"The  new  theology,'^  says  Macaulay,  "spread 
with  a  rapidity  never  known  before.  All  ranks, 
all  varieties  of  characters  joined  the  innovators. 
Sovereigns  impatient  to  appropriate  to  themselves 
the  prerogatives  of  the  Pope,  nobles  desirous  to 
share  the  plunder  of  Abbeys,  good  men  scandalized 
by  the  corruptions  in  the  Church,  bad  men  desirous 
of  the  license  inseparable  from  great  moral  revolu- 
tions, wise  men  eager  in  pursuit  of  truth,  weak  men 
lured  by  the  glitter  of  novelty,  all  were  found  on 
one  side.  Within  fifty  years  from  the  day  on  which 
Luther  publicly  burned  the  Bull  of  Leo  X,  Protes- 
tantism attained  its  highest  ascendency,  an  ascend- 
ency which  it  soon  lost  and  which  it  has  never  re- 
gained.'^ 

Work  of  the  Princes.  Jurien,  a  bitter  opponent 
of  the  Catholic  Church,  writes:  "That  the  Refor- 
mation was  brought  about  by  civil  power  is  in- 
contestable. It  was  introduced  into  Geneva  by 
the  Senate;  into  other  parts  of  Switzerland  ^by 
the  Grand  Council  of  each  canton;  into  Holland 'by 
the  States  General ;  into  Denmark,  Sweden,  England, 
Scotland,  by  kings  and  parliaments.  Nor  did  the 
civil  power  merely  guarantee  full  liberty  to  the 
partisans  of  the  Reformation;  it  took  from  the  pa- 
pists their  churches  and  forbade  their  worship." 

"In  Sweden,"  says  the  Britannica,  "the  Reforma- 
tion was  established  concurrently  with  the  political 


398  THE  REFORMATION 

revolution  which  placed  Gustavus  Yasa  upon  the 
throne.  It  was,  however,  only  too  apparent  that 
the  patriot  king  was  largely  influenced  by  the  expec- 
tation of  replenishing  his  exhausted  exchequer  from 
the  revenues  of  the  Church ;  and  as  in  Germany  and 
England,  the  assent  of  the  nobility  w^as  gained  by 
their  admission  to  a  considerable  share  in  the  con- 
fiscated property.'' 

The  motives  of  the  princes  who  made  possible  the 
Reformation  are  summed  up  by  Frederick  the  Great 
in'  the  cynical  apothegm:  *'In  Germany  it  was 
self-interest,  in  England  lust,  in  France  the  love  of 
novelty." 

Luther  a  Tool.  The  fact  is  that  Luther,  in  throw- 
ing off  the  spiritual  authority  of  the  Church,  had 
placed  his  neck  under  the  more  galling  yoke  of  un- 
just and  unscrupulous  princes.  He  had  thrown  in 
his  cause  with  theirs,  and  he  and  his  cause  were  be- 
ing dragged  to  lengths  of  which  he  had  little 
dreamed.  To  secure  their  cooperation  and  protec- 
tion, Luther  had  recklessly  appealed  to  the  worst 
passions  that  sway  the  human  breast.  He  not  only 
flattered  their  vanity,  but  held  out  to  them  as  baits, 
the  rich  booty  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  monas- 
tery properties  and  endowments.  In  his  pamphlet 
entitled  ArgyropMlaXj  he  had  written:  **You  will 
find  out  how  many  hundred  thousand  gold  pieces 
the  monks  and  that  class  of  men  possess  within  a 
small  portion  of  your  territory. ' '  Francis  Von  Sick- 
ingen,  at  tha  head  of  12,000  men,  invaded  the  Arch- 
bishopric of  Treves,  tracking  his  path  by  the  blood 
he  shed,  the  churches  he  pillaged,  and  the  Jicentious 
excesses  of  his  soldiery.  John,  Elector  of  Saxony, 
enriched  his  sideboard  with  the  sacred  vessels  of 
the  churches,  till  it  was  the  best  furnished  in  all 
Germany.  So  the  whole  Church  in  Germany  was 
robbed.    The  attempts  of  calmer  and  disinterested 


SPREAD  BY  PRINCES  399 

men  of  both  parties  to  effect  a  reconciliation  and 
prevent  a  permanent  disruption  of  Christendom, — 
as  at  Augsburg  in  1530,  was  defeated  largely,  as 
Erasmus  says,  "because  the  Lutheran  princes  would 
not  hear  anything  of  restitution." 

Melanchthon,  seeing  how  his  party  was  dragged 
at  the  heels  of  the  princes,  avowed  that  "in  the  tri- 
umph of  the  Reformation,  the  princes  looked  not  to 
the  purity  of  doctrine  or  the  propagation  of  light, 
to  the  triumph  of  a  creed  or  the  improvement  of 
morals,  but  only  regarded  the  profane  and  sordid 
interests  of  the  world. '^ 

Luther  himself  was  at  times  terrified  by  the  move- 
ment of  which  he  found  himself  the  popular  hero. 
He  stood  aghast  at  the  bloody  war  into  which  the 
inflammatory  agitation  of  his  followers  drew  the 
nobles  and  peasants.  He  declared  that  men  were 
worse  than  in  the  old  days  under  the  Popes.  When 
he  found  that  the  greedy  nobles  cared  at  heart  no 
more  for  him  and  his  married  colleagues  than  for 
the  celibate  monks  whose  monasteries  his  revolt 
enabled  them  to  plunder,  he  cried:  "To  the  de:^il 
with  senators,  manor  lords,  princes  and  mighty  no- 
bles, who  do  not  leave  for  the  preachers,  the  serv- 
ants of  the  Gospel,  wherewith  to  support  their  wives 
and  Children."  ^ 

Bigamy  of  Philip  of  Hesse.  The  depths  of  sub- 
serviency to  which  the  reformers  went  in  order  to 
retain  the  support  of  powerful  men,  is  illustrated  by 
the  permission  which  Luther  and  his  chief  partisans 
gave  to  the  Landgrave  Philip  of  Hesse,  to  have  two 
wives  at  the  same  time.  Philip  had  been  married 
sixteen  years,  and  had  several  children,  when  he  be- 
came enamored  of  Margaret  von  der  Sale,  a  young 
maid  of  honor  to  his  sister.  ^  Reading  in  his  Bible 
that  Lamech  had  two  wives,  Philip  resolved  to  fol- 

1  Spalding,   Hist,   of  Ref.,  Vol.   I.,  p.  257. 


400  THE  REFORMATION 

low  his  example.  The  unheard-of  case  of  conscience 
was  proposed  to  the  new  apostles  at  Wittenberg. 
The  answer  granting  permission  came  in  a  lengthy 
document  of  twenty-four  articles,  full  of  pious 
phrases,  and  signed  by  the  eight  principal  reform- 
ers of  Wittenberg,  Luther,  Melanchthon,  Bucer,  Cor- 
vin,  Leningen,  Vinfert  and  Melanther.^ 

84.    REFORMATION  IN  ENGLAND. 

The  Reformation  in  England  was  begun  by  Henry 
VHI  and  continued  under  the  regency  of  Somerset 
in  the  boyhood  of  Edward  VI.  It  was  checked 
by  the  Catholic  reaction  under  Queen  Mary,  and 
taken  up  and  completed  in  the  long  reign  of  Eliza- 
beth. 

The  Protestant  Myers  thus  introduces  his  account 
of  Henry's  repudiation  of  his  first  wife  Catharine 
of  Aragon:  "We  have  now  to  relate  some  circum- 
stances which  very  soon  changed  Henry  from  a  zeal- 
ous supporter  of  the  Papacy  into  its  bitterest  en- 
emy.^* ^  When  the  Pope  and  Cardinal  Wolsey  failed 
to  find  Henry's  first  marriage  invalid,  and  so  re- 
fused to  countenance  a  second  contract,  Wolsey  was 
deposed  and  Thomas  Cromwell  succeeded  as  Prime 
Minister.  ** Cromwell's  advice  to  the  king,'^  says 
Myers,  "was  to  waste  no  more  time  negotiating  with 
the  Pope,  but  at  once  to  renounce  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Roman  Pontiff,  proclaim  himself  supreme 
head  of  the  Church  in  England  and  then  get  a  de- 
cree of  diyorce  from  his  own  courts."  Had  Hen- 
ry's marriage  been  really  invalid,  Rome  would  have 

2  Documents  reproduced  in  Bossuet's  Variations.  Bk.  6 :  Bayle's 
Dictionary,  art  Luther:   Spalding's  Hist,  of  Reformation,  Vol.  I. 

1  The  Modern  A?e.  Henry  cast  off  the  virtuous  Catherine  of  Aragon 
to  marry  Anne  Boleyn.  Soon  beheading  Anne,  he  next  day  married 
Jane  Seymour.  In  a  year  he  married  Anne  of  Cleves.  Catherine 
Howard  soon  usurped  her  place,  only  to  be  beheaded  in  turn.  His 
sixth  wife  was  Catherine  Parr. 


REFORMATIOX  JX  ENGLAND  401 

so  reported  and  England  might  have  been  saved  to 
the  Church.  The  only  fact  impelling  for  the  di- 
vorce was  Henry's  lust  for  the  unfortunate  Boleyn, 
whom  he  Avould  soon  behead  as  an  adulteress.  The 
Church  could  not  lend  its  sanction  to  such  profli- 
gacy. 

Act  of  Supremacy.  So  CroraweH's  advice  was 
acted  upon,  and  England  was  swiftly  carried  away 
from  the  authority  of  the  Roman  See.  Thomas 
Cranmer,  then  a  young  priest  at  Cambridge,  sug- 
gested that  the  universities  give  their  opinion  about 
the  King's  first  marriage.  The  Britannica  says  that 
immense  sums  were  given  to  bribe  the  learned  doc- 
tors to  favor  Henry's  scheme.  But  the  marriage 
was  found  valid.  Cranmer,  who  had  likewise  w^rit- 
ten  a  book  in  favor  of  the  divorce,  was  now  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  new  programme,  made  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury.  Cranmer,  now  Primate,  at  once  re- 
tried the  case  of  Henry's  marriage  with  Catharine 
of  Aragon;  and  of  course  at  once  declared  it  null 
and  void.  This  base  act  of  Henry's  political  Arch- 
bishop, like  Luther's  servility  to  Philip  of  Hesse,  is 
typical  of  the  whole  Reformation.  It  explains,  too, 
the  struggle  between  the  Kings  and  the  Popes  for 
the  right  of  appointing  Bishops.  Later  this  act 
cost  Cranmer  his  life,  when  Catharine's  daughter, 
thus  declared  a  bastard,  mounted  the  throne  as 
Queen  Mary. 

In  1533  a  law  was  passed  forbidding  appeals  to 
be  made  to  Rome.  Next  the  annates  that  went  to 
support  the  central  government  of  the  Church,  were 
ordered  paid  to  the  English  crown  instead.  In  1534 
Henry  got  from  parliament  the  Act  of  Supremacy 
making  him  "the  only  Supreme  Head  on  earth  of 
the  Church  of  England,"  vesting  in  him  absolute 
control  of  its  offices  and  revenues  and  sanctioning 
the  act  by  making  its  denial  high  treason.    Thus 


402  THE  REFORMATION 

we  have  the  Anglican  Church  by  law  established. 

''Even  if  the  English  people,"  continues  Myers, 
**are  indebted  to  Henry  for  their  national  independ- 
ent church,  still  they  owe  him  for  this,  no  gratitude ; 
for  what  he  did  here  proceeded  primarily  from  the 
basest  impulses  and  motives,  and  not  from  regard 
for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  subjects  or  from  sym- 
pathy with  religious  reform. ' '  ^ 

This  Reformation  of  Henry  was  introduced  with 
persecution  and  bloodshed.  Among  its  martyrs  was 
the  greatest  Englishman  of  the  day,  Sir  Thomas 
More.  Under  the  succeeding  reign  of  Edward  and 
Somerset,  use  of  the  new  liturgy  and  attendance 
at  the  new  service  were  enforced  by  law  and  im- 
prisonment; while  the  protests  of  the  people  for 
freedom  of  conscience  and  the  right  to  practice  the 
faith  of  their  fathers,  was  stamped  out  by  the  aid 
of  German  mercenary  troops.  ''This  is,"  says  Hal- 
lam,^  "somewhat  a  humiliating  admission,  that  the 
Protestant  faith  was  imposed  upon  our  ancestors 
by  a  foreign  army."  It  is  often  and  truly  said, 
that  the  English  people  did  not  give  up  their  faith, 
but  were  robbed  of  it. 

Conversion  of  the  Nobles.  As  in  Germany,  so  in 
England,  the  nobles  were  brought  over  to  the  Refor- 
mation by  the  plunder  of  churches  and  other  eccle- 
siastical endowments.  These  confiscations  the  king 
shared  with  the  old  nobility  and  used  to  create  a 
new  one.  Thus  was  parliament  packed  with  the 
king's  dependents,  and  the  liberties  of  the  people 
enslaved.  In  the  course  of  a  thousand  years  the 
Church  had  naturally  acquired  vast  properties, 
much  of  which  was  held  in  trust  b^^  the  monastic 
bodies  and  administered  by  them  in  the  interests  of 

2  Modern  Age,  p.  106. 

'Const.  Hist,  of  England,  Vol.  1,  Ch.  2.  Green's  Hist,  of  Eng. 
People.  (International  Book  &  Publ.  Co.,  N.  Y.,  1889.)  Vol. 
III.,  Bk.  VI.,  pp.  51,  56,  61. 


REFORMATION  IN  ENGLAND  403 

religion,  charity  and  education.  It  is  admitted  that 
the  monks  were  generous  to  their  renters  and  the 
charity  of  their  houses  made  unnecessary  the  mu- 
nicipal *Svork  houses"  for  the  poor,  of  later  days. 
Most  of  these  monasteries  and  foundations  of  re- 
ligion and  charity  were  confiscated  and  secularized 
under  Henry  VIII  and  Somerset,  and  the  spoil  dis- 
tributed among  couriers  and  politicians.  Six  hun- 
dred and  forty-five  monasteries  were  thus  broken 
up.  Myers  says  that  first  the  smaller  houses  were 
suppressed  under  pretense  of  their  irregularities, 
and  the  monks  sent  to  the  large  monasteries  to  live 
a  more  godly  life;  and  that  when  the  time  came  to 
plunder  the  larger  houses,  even  this  hypocritical  ex- 
cuse was  not  used. 

Spoils  of  the  Church.  The  historian  Green,  Eng- 
lish and  Protestant  as  he  is,  refers  again  and  again 
to  the  base  and  sacrilegious  influence  by  which  the 
Reformation  was  promoted  in  England.*  He  says 
of  Henry's  reign:  **The  marriages,  the  reforms, 
the  profusion  of  Henry  had  aided  him  in  his  policy 
of  weakening  the  nobles  by  building  up  a  new  no- 
bility which  sprang  from  the  court  and  was  wholly 
dependent  on  the  crown.  Such  were  the  Russells, 
Cavendfshes,  Wriothesleys,  Fitzwilliams.  Such  was 
John  Dudley  raised  to  the  peerage  as  Lord  Lisle. 
Such  were  the  brothers  of  Jane  Seymour.  Without 
any  historical  hold  on  the  country,  raised  by  the 
royal  caprice,  and  enriched  by  the  spoils  of  the  mon- 
asteries, these  nobles  were  pledged  to  the  change 
from  which  they  had  sprung  and  to  the  party  of 
change." 

Green  says  of  the  progress  under  Edward:  ''The 
suppression  of  chauntries  and  religious  guilds  which 
was  now  being  carried  out,  enabled  Somerset  to  buy 
the  assent  of  nobles  and  land  owners  to  his  measures 

*Vol.  III.,  pp.  39,  51,  54,  57,  61,  102,  148,  94  (edition  of  last  note). 


404  THE  REFORMATION 

by  glutting  their  greed  with  the  last  spoils  of  the 
Church." 

Of  the  plunder  of  the  Church  in  Scotland,  Green 
says:  "No  nobility  was  so  poor  as  that  of  Scotland 
and  nowhere  in  Europe  was  the  contrast  between 
their  poverty  and  the  riches  of  the  Church  so  great. 
Each  step  of  the  vast  spoliation  that  went  on  south 
of  the  border,  the  confiscation  of  the  lesser  abbeys, 
the  suppression  of  the  greater,  the  secularization  of 
chauntries  and  hospitals,  woke  a  fresh  greed  in  the 
baronage  of  the  north.  The  new  opinions  soon 
found  disciples  among  them.  It  was  a  group  of 
Protestant  nobles  who  surprised  the  Castle  of  St. 
Andrews  and  murdered  Cardinal  Beaton.  .  .  .  Knox 
had  been  one  of  the  followers  of  Wishart;  he  had 
acted  as  pastor  to  the  Protestants  who,  after 
Beaton ^s  murder,  held  the  Castle  of  St.  Andrews." 

Under  Mary,  when  restitution  was  spoken  of, 
''great  lords  were  heard  to  threaten  that  they  would 
keep  their  lands  so  long  as  they  had  a  sword  at  their 
side:  And  England  was  thus  left  at  hopeless  vari- 
ance with  the  Papacy." 

85.  CHARACTER  OF  THE  REFORMERS. 

That  the  Reformation  was  much  more  than  a  re- 
ligious movement,  is  apparent  from  the  character  of 
its  leaders.  In  some  of  them,  like  Henry  VIII  re- 
ligion was  the  last  and  least  motive:  while  in  those 
who  made  the  most  profession  of  religion,  like 
Luther,  there  were  absent  the  consistent  virtue  and 
exalted  spirituality  of  the  saints;  and  there  were 
present  human  passion^  and  sordid  habits  and 
worldly  motivesx  that  left  the  religious  prophet 
eclipsed  by  the  political  revolutionist. 

Luther.  To  many  for  whom  he  is  the  symbol  of 
the  Reformation  and  all  that  they  associate  with 


CHARACTER  OF  REFORMERS  405 

that  word,  Luther  is  the  great  prophet  of  God, 
sacred  as  is  Mahomet  to  his  Moslem.  To  many- 
others  Luther  is  a  man  vulgar  in  thought  and  word, 
drinking,  brawling,  superstitious,  unstable  of  pur- 
pose, a  demagogue  whose  peculiar  genius  and  cir- 
cumstances have  made  the  popular  hero  of  the  six- 
teenth century  revolution. 

The  latest  and  most  scientific  histories  of  Luther 
and  his  times, — *'The  History  of  the  German  People 
at  the  Close  of  the  Middle  Ages,"  of  Jannsen,  and 
the  **  Luther  und  Luthertum"  of  Denifle,  repeat 
'with  unassailable  evidence  the  stories  of  strange 
conduct  which  it  would  be  charity  to  call  madness. 
Years  ago  Hallam  suggested  that  there  was  a  vein 
of  insanity  in  Luther's  character.^  The  suspicion 
of  the  nineteenth  century  historian  has  become  the 
judgment  of  the  twentieth  century  scientist,  whose 
knowledge  of  degeneracy  perhaps  explains  Luther's 
hitherto  inexplicable  character.  **The  visions," 
says  Lydston,  *'*of  the  epileptic  Mahomet  and  of 
Martin  Luther,  were  the  flickering  of  insanity,  albeit 
called  the  sacred  fire  of  holy  inspiration.  "^ 

Fallen  Idols.  'The  character  of  the  other  Reform- 
er, of  Knox,  Calvin,  Cranmer,  Zwingle,  as  well  as 
Luther,  suffers  with  the  growth  of  the  scientific  and 
unemotional  knowledge  of  history.  A  generation 
ago,  Froude  ^  wrote,  **Lord  Macaulay  can  hardly 
find  epithets  strong  enough  to  express  his  contempt 
for  Archbishop  Cranmer.  Mr.  Buckle  places  Cran- 
mer by  the  side  of  Bonner,  and  hesitates  which  of 
the  two  characters  is  the  more  detestable.  ...  An 
unfavorable  estimate  of  the  Reformers,  whether  just 
or  unjust,  is  unquestionably  gaining  ground  among 
our  advanced  thinkers."    Knox  is  a  sorry  spiritual 

1  Const.  Hist,  of  England.     Harper,  1857,  p.  45. 
'  Diseases   of   Society   and   Degeneracy.     Fr.    Lydston,  'M.D.,    p.  471. 
Also  "Max  Nardau,   Degeneration. 
*  Short   studies,  V.  I.,  p.  48. 


406  THE  EEFORMATION 

hero,  in  the  study  of  Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  Scotch- 
man and  Protestant  though  the  writer  be. 

Hallam  thus  warns  the  student  in  his  Introduction 
to  the  History  of  Literature:  ''Whatever  may  be 
the  bias  of  our  minds  as  to  the  truth  of  Luther's 
doctrines,  we  should  be  careful,  in  considering  the 
Reformation  as  a  part  of  the  history  of  mankind, 
not  to  be  misled  by  the  superficial  and  ungrounded 
representations  which  we  sometimes  find  in  modern 
writers.  Such  as  this,  that  Luther,  struck  by  the 
absurdity  of  the  prevailing  superstitions,  was  de- 
sirous of  introducing  a  more  rational  system  of  re^ 
ligion ;  or  that  he  contended  for  freedom  of  inquiry 
and  the  boundless  privileges  of  individual  judg- 
ment ;  or,  what  others  have  been  pleased  to  suggest, 
that  his  zeal  for  learning  and  ancient  philoso- 
phy led  him  to  attack  the  ignorance  of  the  monks 
and  the  crafty  policy  of  the  Church  which  withstood 
all  liberal  studies.  These  notions  are  merely  falla- 
cious refinements,  as  every  man  of  plain  understand- 
ing who  is  acquainted  with  the  writings  of  the  early 
reformers,  or  has  considered  their  history,  must  ac- 
knowledge.'' • 

86.    REACTION. 

Within  fifty  years  after  Luther's  dramatic  episode 
at  the  gates  of  Wittenberg,  Protestantism  had  at- 
tained its  highest  ascendency;  "An  ascendency," 
says  Macaulay,^  "which  it  soon  lost  and  which  it 
has  never  regained.  Hundreds  who  could  well  re- 
member Brother  Martin  (Luther)  as  a  devout  Cath- 
olic, lived  to  see  the  revolution  of  which  he  was  the 
chief  author,  victorious  in  half  the  states  of  Europe." 
In  England,  Scotland,  Scandanavia,  northern  Ger- 
many and  parts  of  Switzerland,  the  Reformation 

*  Essays :  Ranke. 


REACTION  407 

had  triumplied.  In  Italy  and  Spain  it  had  gained 
no  foothold.  In  France,  Belgium,  southern  Ger- 
many, Hungary  and  Poland,  the  contest  was  .still 
undecided,  but  with  every  seeming  promise  of  the 
Reformation's  victory.  This  was  fifty  years  after 
the  Lutheran  secession.     Then  came  the  reaction. 

**If  we  overleap  another  fifty  years,"  continues 
Macaulay,  **we  find  Catholicism  victorious  and  dom- 
inant in  France,  Belgium,  Bavaria  (southern  Ger- 
many), Bohemia,  Austria,  Poland  and  Hungary. 
Nor  has  Protestantism  been  able,  in  the  course  of 
two  centuries,  to  reconquer  any  portion  of  what  was 
then  lost.  This  triumph  is  not  to  be  chiefly  attrib- 
uted to  force  of  arms,  but  to  a  great  reflux  in  public 
opinion.  During  the  first  half  century  after  the 
commencement  of  the  Reformation,  the  current  of 
feeling  in  the  countries  north  of  the  Alps  ran  im- 
petuously toward  the  new  doctrines.  Then  the  tide 
turned,  and  rushed  as  fiercely  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion." 

Did  the  Church  Need  Reformation?  The  cause 
of  this  reaction  was  partly  perhaps  that  the  political 
revolution  which  had  carried  the  religious  agitation 
along  on  its  crest,  had  spent  its  first  force  and  the 
real  significance  of  the  reformation  was  becoming 
more  clear.  Much  more  the  cause  of  the  reaction 
was  the  counter  reformation  carried  on  by  the  loyal 
Catholics. 

These  Catholics  saw  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  two 
elements,  the  human  and  the  divine.  The  human 
element  are  all  the  men  and  women,  high  and  low, 
who  make  up  the  visible  community  of  the  Church. 
The  divine  element  are  the  truths  which  Christ  has 
revealed  and  committed  to  His  Church,  and  the  con- 
stitution which  He  has  given  to  His  Church  to  insure 
her  carrying  on  His  work  in  the  world.  This  divine 
element  cannot  be  reformed  by  men.    For  men  to 


408  THE  KEFORMATION 

change  the  constitution  or  doctrines  given  by  Christ 
to  His  Church,  is  not  to  improve,  but  to  destroy  for 
themselves  and  others,  the  work  of  the  Master. 

The  human  element,  on  the  other  hand,  not  only 
can  but  must  continually  be  reformed.  Indeed  it  is 
the  very  purpose  of  the  Church  to  reform  men ;  and 
the  Church  is  not  satisfied  till  each  individual  is  re- 
formed in  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ.  She  calls  no 
one  saint  till  he  be  safe  in  Heaven.  This  work  of 
reform  is  always  needed.  In  some  ages,  owing  to 
various  circumstances,  it  is  more  urgent  than  in 
others.  The  sixteenth  century,  while  it  had  its 
saints,  had  even  more,  no  doubt,  its  sinners  and 
worldlings  in  the  Church,  even  in  its  citadels.  In 
this  human  sense  all  realized  that  the  Church  needed 
reformation.  But  that  reformation  must  come  from 
within  the  Church.  To  go  outside  of  the  Church  to 
reform  her  members,  is  not  to  reform  the  Church 
but  to  inaugurate  sects,  and  so  to  augment  the  evils 
of  Christendom.  So  taught  St.  Augustine  in  the 
fifth  century.  So  taught  Martin  Luther  two  years 
before  his  secession. 

Old  Teachings  Overboard.  As  the  Protestant  Ref- 
ormation went  on,  not  only  the  staunch  Catholics  of 
the  south,  but  the  more  conservative  men  in  the 
doubtful  countries  began  to  stand  aghast  at  its 
work.  Prom  attack  on  incidental  abuses  and  hu- 
man faults  which  all  were  ready  to  admit  and  con- 
demn, the  Protpstant  leaders  had  rushed  on  to  at- 
tack the  very  life  of  the  Church,  Doctrines  the 
most  venerable  were  thrown  aside.  Spiritual  author- 
ity was  cut  off  at  its  source.  The  Mass  with  the  real 
presence  of  Christ,  the  central  act  of  Catholic  wor- 
ship, was  abolished.  In  its  place  men  advanced 
scores  of  contradictory  and  lifeless  interpretations 
of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

The  power  of  the   priestly   and   episcopal   office 


REACTION  409 

had  beeu  sacrameutally  transmitted  from  genera- 
tion to  generation,  as  the  very  succession  of  the 
Apostles.  This  ordination  could  come  only  by  the 
hands  of  Bishops,  who  like  Matthias  and  Barna- 
bas had  received  the  fullness  of  the  priesthood  from 
Bishops  before  them.  The  people  saw  these  Holy 
Orders  despised.  Any  one  who  could  harangue  the 
crowd  had  apostolic  commission  enough. 

The  Papacy  which  had  been  the  rock  of  central 
authority  in  the  Church  from  the  beginning,  was  not 
only  despised  but  denounced  as  Anti-Christ  and  the 
work  of  the  Devil.  The  General  Council  which  had 
been  demanded,  was  not  accepted  when  it  came. 
Invitations  to  the  Protestants  to  come  to  Trent  and 
try  to  adjust  the  differences  were  repeatedly  re- 
jected. The  new  doctrines  that  made  the  Bible 
alone  the  rule  of  faith  and  its  private  interpretation 
by  each  individual,  the  last  court  of  appeal,  ren- * 
dered  the  assembling  of  the  supreme  court  of  the 
Church,  to  settle  the  difficulties,  unnecessary  and 
meaningless. 

The  New  Teachings.  Besides  the  destruction  of 
the  Christian  institutions  of  the  past,  conservative 
men  saw  the  subserviency  of  the  reformers  to  every 
petty  politician  and  every  princely  policy.  They 
saw  their  tendency  to  pamper  human  passions,  as  in 
the  bigamy  of  Philip  of  Hess;  the  divorce  of  Henry 
VIII.  They  noted  the  declamations  of  Luther  and 
the  other  ** reformed"  monks  against  fasting,  celib- 
acy, and  penitential  works;  and  their  eagerness  to 
find  a  wife.  Luther's  marriage  to  Catherine  Bora, 
whom  he  lured  from  her  consecration  as  a  nun,  made 
the  pious  grieve  and  the  worldlings  laugh.  Men 
saw  the  immorality  and  hypocrisy  which  followed 
the  new  teachings,  of  the  total  depravity  of  nature, 
the  denial  of  free  will  in  man,  salvation  by  predes- 
tination   and    election,    and    justification    by    faith 


410  THE  EEFOEMATION 

alone;  the  many  sects  sprung  up  like  mushrooms 
with  the  glorification  of  ''private  interpretation," 
fighting  among  each  other  as  well  as  against  the 
ancient  Church;  the  horror  of  the  peasants*  war, 
with  its  loss  of  one  hundred  thousand  lives,  brought 
on  by  the  new  fanatical  preachers. 

Above  all  this,  in  the  face  of  the  reformers*  al- 
most idolization  of  the  Bible  and  their  exaltation 
of  the  sacred  writings  to  take  the  place  altogether 
of  the  living  voice  and  government  of  the  Church, 
men  saw  their  readiness  to  change  and  corrupt  the 
text  of  the  Bible  itself,  when  its  revealed  word  did 
not  sufficiently  endorse  their  new  dogmas.  In  Ger- 
many, Luther  introduced  the  word  ' '  alone ' '  into  the 
Epistle  of  the  Romans  (iii.-28)  to  make  St.  Paul  say 
that  we  are  justified  by  faith  alone ;  and  rejected  the 
writings  of  St.  James,  as  a  ** straw  epistle,"  because 
they  insist  that  faith  is  dead  without  good  works. 
Later  in  England  the  translators  of  the  ''Author- 
ized Version"  altered  the  words  of  St.  Paul's  first 
epistle  to  the  Corinthians  (xi.-27),  to  bring  the  in- 
spired author  into  needed  conformity  with  their 
current  conceptions  about  the  necessary  mode  of 
receiving  the  Holy  Communion.  Never  had  her  en- 
emies been  able  to  make  such  charges  against  the 
Catholic  Church  in  all  the  centuries  that  she  has 
been  the  custodian  of  the  Bible  and  copied  by  hand 
and  preserved  its  sacred  text. 

Church  or  No  Church.  This  whole  spectacle 
made  thoughtful  men  pause.  Those  who  were  most 
desirous  of  seeing  the  Church  freed  from  abuse  of 
any  kind,  and  who  had  at  first  lent  themselves  to 
the  new  movement,  drew  back.  They  felt  that  the 
revolution  was  not  reforming  the  Church  of  Christ 
but  destroying  her.  And  if  it  put  up  something  in 
her  place,  it  was  a  very  human  thing,  a  creature  of 
the  state,  and  already  more  powerless  against  abuse 


COUNTER  REFORM  411 

than  the  historic  Church  had  shown  herself  in  her 
sixteen  centuries.  The  very  existence  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion  seemed  at  stake.  It  was  a  question  of 
the  spiritual  authority  of  Rome  or  of  anarchy;  of 
the  old  Church  or  no  church.  Hence  the  reaction 
of  public  opinion  which  made  Catholicism  again 
predominant  in  every  country,  except  those — Eng- 
land, Scotland,  Scandinavia  and  northern  Germany 
— where  the  civil  government  was  interested  to 
support  Protestantism  as  part  of  itself,  and  to  perse- 
cute the  historic  faith. 

Of  this  critical  hour,  Green  writes:-  **At  the 
moment  when  ruin  seemed  certain,  the  older  faith 
rallied  to  a  new  resistance.  "While  Protestantism 
was  degraded  and  weakened  by  the  prostitution  of 
the  reformation  to  political  ends,  by  the  greed  and 
worthlessness  of  the  German  princes  who  espoused 
its  cause,  by  the  factious  lawlessness  of  the  nobles 
in  Poland  and  the  Huguenots  in  France,  while  it 
wasted  its  strength  in  theological  controversies  and 
persecutions,  in  bitter  and  venomous  discussions 
between  the  churches  which  followed  Luther  and 
the  churches  which  followed  Zwingle  or  Calvin,  the 
great  communion  which  it  assailed  felt  at  last  the 
uses  of  adversity.  The  Catholic  world  rallied 
around  the  Council  of  Trent.  In  the  very  face  of 
heresy,  the  Catholic  faith  was  anew  settled  and  de- 
fined. The  Papacy  was  owned  afresh  as  the  center 
of  Catholic  Union.'' 

87.  TRENT  AND  THE  COUNTER  REFORM. 

In  every  supreme  crisis  to  which  the  Church  has 
been  brought  by  the  faults  and  weaknesses  of  men, 
Providence  has  raised  up  great  souls,  able  to  cope 
with  the  situation   and   destined  to   vindicate  the 

'Hist.  Book  VI.,  Oh.  II. 


412  THE  KEFORMATION 

honor  of  Christ  and  His  Church  in  their  own  sanc- 
tity and  in  the  fruit  of  their  labors.  In  the  crisis 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  awakened  Catholicism 
showed  its  inherent  life  and  power,  in  the  brilliant 
constellation  of  saints,  scholars,  founders  and  mis- 
sionaries of  the  period,  and  in  the  new  religious  or- 
ders, which,  through  every  avenue  of  Christian 
activity,  brought  the  zeal  of  their  founders  to 
quicken  the  spiritual  life  of  the  clergy  and 
people. 

Saints.  It  was  the  age  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo, 
Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Milan,  the  father  of  his 
plague-stricken  people,  the  catechist  of  the  Council 
of  Trent,  the  holy  ascetic  in  the  chair  of  a  prince ;  of 
St.  Francis  de  Sales,  Bishop  of  Geneva,  the  gentle 
scholar  who  won  back  half  his  city  from  Calvinism ; 
of  St.  Philip  Neri,  the  friend  of  the  sick ;  of  St.  Vin- 
cent de  Paul,  the  father  of  the  poor;  of  the  zealous 
Jerome  Emilian  and  John  of  God;  of  St.  Ignatius 
Loyola,  the  soldier  of  the  soul ;  of  St.  Francis  Xav- 
ier,  the  Apostle  of  India;  of  Peter  Canisius,  the 
catechist  of  Germany. 

It  was  the  age,  too,  of  Saints  Frances  de  Chantel, 
Angela  of  Brescia  and  Theresa  of  Avila,  examples 
of  womanly  self-sacrifice  in  educating  the  young 
and  nursing  the  afflicted. 

Religious  Orders.  The  Oblates  of  St.  Charles,  the 
Oratorians  of  Philip  Neri,  the  Theatines  of  Caraffa, 
the  Brothers  of  Charity  of  John  of  God,  the  Somas- 
chans  of  Jerome  Emilian,  the  Congregation  of  the 
Missions  or  Lazarists  of  Vincent  de  Paul,  the  Fathers 
of  Christian  Doctrine  of  Caesar  de  Bus,  the 
Brothers  of  the  Pious  Schools,  the  Barnabites, 
the  Brothers  of  the  Common  Life,  the  Capuchins  or 
stricter  '  observance  of  Franciscans,  the  new  Bene- 
dictine congregation  of  St.  Maur,  and  preeminently 
the  Society  of  Jesus  or  Jesuits  of  Ignatius  Loyola, 


COUNTER  REFORM  413 

directed   and    encouraged    the    zealous   activity    of 
Catholic  men  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

Meantime  the  Ursulines  of  St.  Angela,  the  Visita- 
tion Nuns  of  St.  Frances  de  Chantel,  the  Carmelites 
of  St.  Theresa,  the  Gray  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Vincent 
de  Paul,  offered  a  lever  by  which  women  might  move 
the  world. 

These  new  orders  and  the  older  ones  which  their 
influence  revivified,  accomplished  work,  through 
schools  and  colleges,  pulpit  and  confessional,  hos- 
pital and  asylum,  missions  foreign  and  domestic, 
publications  popular  and  profound,  worthy  o4  the 
Franciscans  of  the  thirteenth  century  or  the  Bene- 
dictines of  an  earlier  age.  The  schools  of  the  Jesu- 
its soon  were  educating  the  best  youth  of  Europe. 
Caesar  Baronius  compiled  his  history ;  the  Dominican 
Melchior  Canus  and  the  Jesuit  Petavius  taught  the- 
ology; Cardinal  Bellarmine  wrote  his  Controversies, 
— all  names  of  highest  scholarship.  At  the  same 
time  the  Jesuits  sent  Francis  Xavier  and  his  com- 
panions as  Missionaries  to  India  and  Japan ;  and 
the  Jesuits,  Franciscans  and  Dominicans  founded 
civilization  and  Christianity  in  the  South  American 

^and  Mexican  colonies  of  the  New  "World,  where,  as 
says  Macaulay,  the  Church's  acquisitions  more  than 

.  compensated  for  what  she  lost  in  the  Old  World. 
These  were  elements  of  the  "reform  from  within." 
However  much  dead  timber  there  may  have  been  in 
the  tree  of  the  Church  in  the  sixteenth  century,  these 
orders  and  saints  and  great  enterprises  show  a  life 
and  power  such  as  few  of  the  centuries  can  equal. 
Popes  of  the  Period.  But  these  were  not  the  only 
elements  of  the  Catholic  counter-reformation.  The 
sixteenth  century  saw  a  succession  of  Roman  Pon- 
tiffs fit  to  cope  with  the  time  of  greatest  crisis.  Leo 
X,  in  whose  pontificate  the  revolution  broke  out,  was 
succeeded,  says  the  Britannica  in  its  article  on  the 


414  THE  REFORMATION 

Reformation,  by  'Hlie  Emperor's  former  preceptor, 
the  irreproachable,  austere  and  rightly  devout 
Adrian  VI  of  Utrecht."  After  him,  say^  the  same 
authority,  came  Clement  VII,  "admirably  qualified 
to  cope  with  the  difficulties,  ...  his  attainments  and 
experience  were  such  as  in  every  way  corresponded 
to  his  office."  Paul  IV,  as  Bishop,  was  the  zealous 
founder  of  the  Theatines.  Pius  IV  was  the  worthy 
uncle  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo.  Pius  V,  to  whose 
foresight  and  energy  we  owe  the  victory  of  Lepanto, 
is  a  canonized  saint.  Gregory  XIII  has  given  his 
name^to  our  corrected  calendar.  Sixtus  V  rose  from 
a  herdsman  to  be  the  very  worthy  shepherd  of 
Christendom.  Clement  VIII,  whose  pontificate  fin- 
ished the  century,  recognized  with  the  Cardinalate, 
the  genius  of  Baronius,  Toleto  and  Bellarmine. 
Guizot  well  says:  ''It  is  not  true,  that  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  the  court  of  Rome  was  very  tyran- 
nical; it  is  not  true  that  the  abuses  were 
more  numerous  and  trying  than  they  had  been  at 
former  periods.  Never  before,  on  the  contrary,  had 
the  government  of  the  Church  been  more  indulgent 
and  tolerant.  Most  of  the  aomplaints  made  against 
it  were  now  almost  groundless." 

Council  of  Trent.  The  work  of  the  Catholic 
counter-reformation  was  ensured  by  the  general 
Council  of  Trent.  The  labors  of  this  greatest  Ecu- 
menical Council  lasted  from  1545  to  1563.  In  its 
sessions  the  whole  body  of  Christian  teachings  was 
again  and  clearly  stated  and  defined,  and  many 
practical  measures  adopted  to  perfect  ecclesiastical 
discipline  and  improve  good  morals. 

Of  this  Council  Hallam  writes :  ^  "No  Council 
ever  contained  so  many  persons  of  eminent  learning 
and  ability  as  that  of  Trent.  Nor  is  there  ground 
for  believing  that  any  other  ever  investigated  the 

^Introd.  to  Hist,  of  Lit.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  277. 


AND  CIVILIZATION  415 

questions  before  it  with  so  much  patience,  acutenesg, 
and  desire  of  truth.  The  early  councils,  unless 
they  are  greatly  belied,  would  not  bear  comparison 
in  these  characteristics.  Impartiality  and  freedom 
from  prejudice,  no  Protestant  will  attribute  to  the 
fathers  of  Trent;  but  where  will  he  produce  these 
qualities  in  an  ecclesiastical  synod?  But  it  may  be 
said,  that  they  had  but  one  leading  prejudice,  that  of 
determining  theological  faith  according  to  the 
tradition  of  the  Catholic  Church,  as  handed  down  to 
their  own  age.  This  one  ^ point  of  authority  con- 
ceded, I  am  not  aware  that  they  can  be  proved  to 
have  decided  wrong,  or  at  least  against  all  reasona- 
ble evidence.  Let  those  who  have  imbibed  a 
different  opinion  ask  themselves  whether  they  have 
read  Sarpi  through  wath  any  attention.** 

88.     THE  REFORMATION  AND  CIVILIZATION. 

We  may  now  judge  something  of  the  general 
character  of  the  Reformation  in  its  effects  on  civili- 
zation, by  observing  its  relations  to  human  liberty 
and  progress,  as  well  as  to  their  expression  in  litera- 
ture and  art.  On  these  points  we  shall  listen  to 
the  written  judgments  of  standard  non-Catholic 
historians.  For  one  hesitates  to  announce  except  on 
such  authority,  the  conditions  revealed  to  the  care- 
ful student  of  history,  lest  he  appear  prejudiced 
and  unfair  to  readers  who  themselves,  could  they  but 
realize  it,  are  prepossessed  with  very  inaccurate 
ideas  of  the  sixteenth  century  revolution,  furnished 
them  by  D'Aubigne  and  other  worthless  writers  of 
his  school.  Indeed,  this  same  consideration  keeps 
one  from  quoting  the  severest  remarks  even  of  non- 
Catholic  authorities. 

Civil  Liberty.     ''In  Germany,**  says  Guizot,^  ''far 

^  Hist,  of  Civilization,   Lect.   12. 


416  THE  REFORMATION 

from  demanding  political  liberty,  the  Reformation 
accepted,  I  shall  not  say  servitude,  but  the  absence 
of  liberty.  ...  It  rather  strengthened  than  enfee- 
bled the  power  of  princes.  It  was  rather  opposed 
to  the  free  institutions  of  the  Middle  Ages  than 
favorable  to  their  progress." 

Of  England,  Green  writes :  ^  * '  The  old  liberties 
of  England  lay  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  the  king. 
Royal  proclamations  were  taking  the  place  of  par- 
liamentary legislation;  royal  benevolences  were 
encroaching  more  and  more  on  the  rights  of  parlia- 
mentary taxation.  Justice  was  prostituted  in  the 
ordinary  courts  to  the  royal  will.  The  religious 
changes  had  thrown  an  almost  sacred  character  over 
the  'majesty'  of  the  king.  Henry  was  the  head 
of  the  Church.  From  the  primate  to  the  meanest 
deacon  every  minister  of  it  derived  from  him  sole 
right  to  exercise  spiritual  powers.  The  voice  of  its 
preachers  was  the  echo  of  his  will." 

Religious  Liberty.  '*  Persecution, "  says  Hallam,^ 
**is  the  deadly  original  sin  of  the  reformed  churches; 
that  which  cools  every  honest  man's  zeal  for  the 
cause,  in  proportion  as  his  reading  becomes  more 
extensive. ' ' 

''What  shall  we  say,"*  says  Lecky,  "of  a  Church 
that  was  but  a  thing  of  yesterday;  a  Church  that 
has  as  yet  no  services  to  show,  no  claims  upon  the 
gratitude  of  mankind;  a  Church  that  was  by  pro- 
fession the  creature  of  private  judgment,  and  was 
in  reality  generated  by  the  intrigues  of  a  corrupt 
court,  which  nevertheless  suppressed  by  force,  a 
worship  that  multitudes  deemed  necessary  to  salva- 
tion ;  which  by  all  her  organs  and  with  all  her  ener- 
gies persecuted  those  who  clung  to  the  religion  of 
their  fathers?" 

2  Hist,  Bk.  VI.,  Ch.  I. 

'Const.  Hist.,  V.  I.,   Ch.  II.,  p.   51. 

♦Rationalism  in  Europe,  1870,  V.  I.,  p.  51. 


AND  CIVILIZATION  417 

''When  the  Reformation  triumphed  in  Scotland," 
continues  Lecky,^  ''one  of  its  first  fruits  was  a  law 
prohibiting  any  priest  from  celebrating  or  any  wor- 
shiper from  hearing  Mass  under  pain  of  confiscation 
of  his  goods  for  the  first  offense,  of  exile  for  the 
second,  and  of  death  for  the  third."  In  France 
when  the  government  of  certain  towns  was  conceded 
to  the  Protestants,  they  immediately  employed  their 
power  to  suppress  absolutely  the  Catholic  worship. 
In  Sweden  all  who  dissented  from  any  article  of 
the  Confession  of  Augsburg  were  at  once  banished. 

"The  spirit  of  Ctivinistic  Presby  terianism, " 
writes  Green,®  "excluded  all  toleration  of  practice 
or  belief.  The  absolute  rule  of  Bishops,  indeed, 
Cartright  denounced  as  begotten  of  the  devil:  but 
the  absolute  rule  of  Presbyters  he  held  to  be  estab- 
lished by  the  word  of  God.  For  the  Church  founded 
after  the  fashion  of  Geneva,  he  claimed  an  authority 
which  surpassed  the  wildest  dreams  of  the  masters 
of  the  Vatican.  Not  only  was  the  rule  of  ministers 
to  be  established  as  the  one  legal  form  of  Church 
government,  but  all  other  forms  were  to  be  put 
down.  For  heresy  there  was  the  punishment  of 
death.  Never  had  the  doctrine  of  persecution  been 
urged  with  such  blind  and  reckless  ferocity." 

The  party  of  the  Reformation  sought  to  oust  the 
old  faith  not  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  country 
freedom  of  conscience  but  of  imposing  their  own 
creeds  as  the 'state  religion.  Out  of  the  intolerance 
that  marked  the  revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century 
grew  the  great  mass  of  penal  laws  against  Catholics 
in  the  United  Kingdom,  which  for  generations  out- 
raged the  adherents  of  the  old  faith  in  conscience, 
education  and  property.  Many  of  these  were  re- 
pealed only  in  1820  through  the  herculean  labors  of 
Daniel  O'Connell,  sonio  lat«^r  under  Gladstone,  while 

•  Ibid.,  V.  II.,  p.  49.  *  Hist.,   Bk.   VI.,   Ch.   5. 


418  THE  KEFORMATION 

others  disgrace  the  statute  books  of  England  to  this 
day. 

"It  must  be  admitted/'  writes  Buckle,^  ''that  in 
Scotland  there  is  more  bigotry,  more  superstition, 
and  a  more  thorough  contempt  for  the  religion  'of 
others  than  in  France.  And  in  Sweden,  which  is 
one  of  the  oldest  Protestant  countries  in  Europe, 
there  Is,  not  occasionally,  but  habitually,  an  intoler- 
ance and  a  spirit  of  persecution  which  would  be  dis- 
creditable to  a  Catholic  country,  but  which  is  doubly 
disgraceful  when  proceeding  from  a  people  who  pro- 
fess to  base  their  religion^on  the  right  of  private 
judgment. ' ' 

''The  adherents  of  the  Church  of  Rome,''  says 
Hallam,  "have  never  failed  to  cast  two  reproaches 
on  those  who  left  them:  one,  that  the  reform  was 
brought  about  by  intemperate  and  calumnious 
abuse,  by  outrage  of  an  excited  populace  or  by  the 
tyranny  of  princes ;  the  other,  that  after  stimulating 
the  most  ignorant  to  reject  the  authority  of  the 
Church,  it  instantly  withdrew  this  liberty  of  judg- 
ment and  devoted  all  who  presumed  to  swerve  from 
the  lines  drawn  by  law,  to  virulent  obloquy  and 
sometimes  to  bonds  and  death.  These  reproaches 
it  may  be  a  shame  to  us  to  own,  can  be  uttered  and 
cannot  be  refuted." 

Culture.  The  turmoil  and  disorder  of  revolution 
and  particularly  of  civil  war  are  not  favorable  to 
intellectual  or  even  material  progress.  The  culture 
of  art  and  literature  and  science  requires  peace  of 
mind,  stability  of  property  and  the  protection  guar- 
anteed by  secure  and  just  government.  For  the 
whole  Reformation  century,  Europe  was  plunged 
into  unhappy  religious  strife.  Literature  was  de- 
graded into  the  medium  of  fierce  religious  contro- 
versy.    Art  was  abhorred  as  the  handmaid  of  the 

'Hist,  of  Civ.  in  Eng.,  V.   I.,  p.  264. 


AND  CIVILIZATION  419 

old  religion.  The  breaking  up  of  the  monasteries 
which  had  been  the  common  schools  of  the  middle 
ages,  struck  education  at  its  source.  There  was 
such  a  falling  off  at  the  Universities,  that  Froude 
said:  ''To  the  Universities  the  Reformation 
brought  desolation."  Through  the  exhaustion  of 
energy  in  sterile  strife  and  the  suspicion  engendered 
by  fanaticism,  even  material  progress  was  im- 
peded. 

Literature.  Ilallam  ®  quotes  Erasmus  as  saying : 
''Wherever  Lutheranism  reigns  there  literature  ut- 
terly perishes.'*  The  great  humanist  writes  again:  " 
*'I  dislike  these  Gospellers  on  many  accounts,  but 
chiefly  because  through  their  agency,  literature  lan- 
guishes, disappears,  lies  drooping  and  perishes;  and 
without  learning,  what  is  man's  life?  They  love 
good  cheer  and  a  wife;  for  other  things  they  care 
not  a  straw." 

"In  England  during  the  reign  of  Edward  VI," 
says  Green,^'^  "divinity  ceased  to  be  taught  in  the 
Universities:  students  had  fallen  off  in  numbers; 
libraries  were  scattered  and  burned;  and  the  intel- 
lectual impulse  died  away." 

The  delightful  old  booklover,  Merr3rweather,^^ 
Protestant  as  he  is,  deplores  the  destruction  by  Ref- 
ormation fanaticism  of  the  mediaeval  libraries. 
"These  men  over  w^hose  sad  deeds  the  bibliophile 
sighs  with  mournful  regret,  were  those  who  carried 
out  the  Reformation.  .  .  .  The  careless  grants  of  a 
licentious  monarch  conferred  a  monastery  on  a  court 
favorite  or  political  partisan,  without  one  thought 
for  the  preservation  of  its  contents.  Less  learned 
hands  rifled  those  parchment  collections,  mutilated 
their  first  volumes  by  cutting  out  witli  childish  pleas- 

8  Lit.  of  Europe,  V.   I.,  p.   165. 

8  Epistle  714. 

lOHist.,   Bk.  VI.,   Ch.  I.  and  VII. 

"  Bibliomania  in  Middle  Ages,   Ch.  I. 


420  THE  REFORMATION 

ure  the  illuminations  with  which  they  were  adorned ; 
tearing  off  the  bindings  for  the  golden  clasps  which 
protected  the  treasures  within;  and  chopping  up 
huge  folios  as  fuel  for  their  hearths.  Immense  col- 
lections were  sold  as  waste  paper/' 

Humanists.  The  new  theology  of  the  Reforma- 
tion is  often  confounded  with  the  new  learning  of 
the  Renaissance.  Italy,  the  home  of  the  Renaissance 
never  embraced  the  Reformation.  At  Oxford  the 
early  humanists  were  doubtless  reformers,  but,  to 
quote  Myers,^^  **were  not  Protestant  reformers. 
They  believed  in  the  divine  character  of  the  Papal 
supremacy.  They  wished  indeed  to  reform  the  Pa- 
pacy but  not  to  destroy  it.  They  did  not  wish  to 
see  the  mediaeval  unity  of  Christendom  broken  up. 
They  had  no  quarrel  with  the  dogmas  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  Erasmus  denounced  the  doctrines  of  Lu- 
ther; and  More  died  a  martyr  ^s  death  rather  than 
deny  the  papal  supremacy." 

With  Henry's  barbarous  murder  of  the  Author  of 
Utopia, — the  scholar  whom  Colet  declared  the  sole 
genius  in  all  England,  the  saint  whom  the  Church 
has  beatified,  the  statesman  of  whom  Charles  V  said : 
"I  had  rather  lost  my  fairest  city  than  such  a  coun- 
selor,'*— the  development  of  literature  in  England 
was  arrested.  The  golden  age,  which  had  seemed 
ripe  to  break,  was  thrown  back  fifty  years,  till  the 
more  peaceful  days  that  marked  the  close  of  Eliza- 
beth's reign.  Then  it  reappeared  in  Shakespeare, 
Bacon  and  Spenser.  But  the  Elizabethan  literature, 
says  Matthew  Arnold,^^  was  the  work  *'of  the  men 
of  the  Renaissance  not  of  the  men  of  the  Reforma- 
tion"; an  opinion  which  is  shared  by  Taine,  and  by 
Carlyle,  who  says:^*  **This  glorious  Elizabethan 
era,  with  its  Shakespeare  as  the  outcome  of  all  that 

"Modern  Age,  p.  31. 

"  Schools  and  Universities  of  the  Continent,  p.  154. 

"  Essay :  Hero  and  Poet. 


AND  CIVILIZATION  421 

had  preceded  it,  is  itself  attributable  to  the  Catholics 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  Christian  faith  which  was 
the  theme  of  Dante's  song,  had  produced  the  prac- 
tical life  which  Shakespeare  was  to  sing." 

Luther's  Writings.  In  Germany,  the  blight  in  let- 
ters lasted  for  two  hundred  years,  till  the  time  of 
Leibnitz,  when  Germany  began  again  to  repossess  a 
literature.  Not  but  what  the  Reformation  brought 
forth  plenty  of  printed  matter!  The  printing 
presses  were  kept  busy  enough.  But  their  output 
was  mostly  bitter  and  worthless  controversy.  As 
has  been  said,  **to  call  one's  neighbor  seventeen  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  devils  is  not  polite  literature;  while 
to  prove  from  the  Apocalypse  and  Prophets  that  the 
Pope  is  Anti-Christ  and  the  Church  of  Rome  the 
scarlet  woman  is  hardly  a  permanent  contribution 
even  to  Biblical  science." 

Of  the  writings  of  Luther,  which  served  as  a  model 
for  many  smaller  men,  Hallam  says:  ''Their  in- 
temperance, their  coarseness,  their  inelegance,  their 
scurrility,  their  wild  paradoxes  that  menace  the 
foundations  of  religious  morality,  are  not  compen- 
sated by  much  strength  or  acuteness,  and  still  less 
by  any  impressive  eloquence.  The  clear  and  com- 
prehensive line  of  argument  that  enlightens  the 
reader's  understanding  and  solves  his  difficulties,  is 
always  wanting.  An  unbounded  dogmatism  resting 
on  an  absolute  confidence  in  the  infallibility,  prac- 
tically speaking,  of  his  own  judgment,  pervades  his 
writings:  no  indulgence  is  shown,  no  pause  allowed 
to  the  hesitating.  Whatever  stands  in  the  way  of 
his  decisions — the  Fathers,  the  Church,  the  school- 
men and  philosophers,  the  canons  and  councils — 
are  swept  away  in  a  current  of  impetuous  declama- 
tion: and  as  everything  contained  in  Scriptures,  ac- 
cording to  Luther,  is  easy  to  be  understood  and 
can  only  be  understood  in  his  sense,  every  deviation 


422  THE  REFOR]\IATION 

from  his  doctrine  incurs  the  anathema  of  perdi- 
tion." 

Art.  All  the  traditions  of  the  Christian  centuries 
which  had  employed  the  fine  arts,  painting,  sculp- 
ture, carving,  embroidery,  gold  and  silver  smithing, 
as  well  as  architecture,  in  the  external  expression 
of  religious  truth  and  feeling,  w^ere  antagonized  by 
the  Reformation.  The  beauty  of  the  Lord's  temple 
whioh  the  earlier  Christians  had  loved  and  lavished 
their  treasures  upon,  was  despised  and  destroyed. 
Where  the  Protestants  took  from  the  Catholics  their 
beautiful  Gothic  churches,  as  the  government  ena- 
bled them  to  do  very  generally  in  England  and  in 
parts  of  Germany,  pictures,  statues,  and  altars,  price- 
less works  of  art,  were  rudely  wrecked.  Where  the 
new  sects  built  homes  for  themselves,  they  were  sat- 
isfied with  the  bare  walls  of  a  meeting  house.  The 
false  interpretation  of  the  commandment  forbidding 
the  Jews  to  make  graven  images  for  the  purpose  of 
adoring  and  serving  them  as  idols,  was  accepted  as 
the  divine  anathema  against  all  art. 

'/The  Netherlands,''  says  Motley,^^  ^'possessed  an 
extraordinary  number  of  churches  and  monasteries. 
Their  exquisite  architecture  and  elaborate  decora- 
tion had  been  the  earliest  indication  of  intellectual 
culture  displayed  in  the  country.  All  that  science 
could  invent,  all  that  art  could  embody,  all  that 
mechanical  ingenuity  could  dare,  all  that  wealth 
could  lavish, — all  gathered  round  these  magnificent 
temples.  .  .  .  Threre  raged  a  storm  by  which  all 
these  treasures  were  destroyed.  Nearly  every  one 
of  these  temples  were  rifled  of  its  contents.  Art 
must  forever  weep  over  this  bereavement." 

England  and  France  saw  their  Gothic  churches 
defaced  and  disfigured  when  not  destroyed.^  The 
Huguenots  out-vandaled  the  Vandals  in  their  de- 

"  Dutch  RepubUc,  V.  I.,  Ch.  7. 


AND  CIVILIZATION  423 

struction  of  the  exquisite  architecture  of  the  thir- 
teenth century.  Rome  itself,  the  storehouse  of  his- 
tory and  art,  suffered  in  1527  from  the  Lutheran 
troops,  such  a  barbarous  sacking  as  she  did  not  re- 
ceive from  the  savage  Goths  and  Vandals  of  the 
fifth  century.  The  Britannica  deplores  the  wholesale 
destruction  of  priceless  manuscripts  and  earliest 
printed  books  which  were  preserved  at  the  Vatican 
library. 

"The  loss  occasioned  by  the  plunder  of  gold  and 
silver,"  says  Prescott,^^  ** might  be  computed.  The 
structures  so  cruelly  defaced  might  be  repaired  by 
the  skill  of  the  architect.  But  who  can  estimate  the 
irreparable  loss  occasioned  by  the  destruction  of 
manuscripts,  statuary  and  painting?  It  is  a  melan- 
choly fact  that  the  earliest  efforts  of  the  reformers 
were  everywhere  directed  against  those  monuments 
of  genius  which  had  been  created  and  cherished  by 
the  generous  patronage  of  Catholicism." 

Progress.  History  furnishes  examples  of  the  re- 
tarding eft'ects  of  the  Reformation  even  on  the  most 
practical  progress.  The  old  Julian  Calendar  was 
corrected  in  1582,  by  the  learned  Pope  Gregory  XIII. 
This  splendid  and  useful  achievement  of  science,  was 
at  once  accepted  by  the  Catholic  countries.  *^But," 
says  the  Library  of  Universal  Knowledge,  *  *  the  Prot- 
estants were  then  too  much  inflamed  against  Cathol- 
icism, to  receive  even  a  purely  scientific  improvement 
from  such  hands.  The  Lutherans  of  Germany, 
Switzerland  and  the  Low  Countries  gave  way  in 
1700.  It  was  not  till  1751,  and  after  great  incon- 
venience had  been  experienced  for  nearly  two  cen- 
turies, from  the  difference  of  reckoning,  that  an  act 
was  passed  for  equalizing  the  style  in  Great  Britain 
and  that  used  in  other  countries.  A  similar  change 
was  made  about  the  same  time  in  Sweden."    Again, 

"Philip  II. 


424  THE  REFORMATION 

through  the  energy  wasted  in  religious  strife  and 
civil  war,  the  new  world  discoveries  of  Cabot,  in 
1497,  were  not  followed  up  by  England  for  a  hun- 
dred years. 

The  opinion  of  Goethe  is  thus  given  by  Froude :  ^' 
"The  German  poet  Goethe  says  of  Luther,  that  he 
threw  back  the  intellectual  progress  of  mankind  for 
centuries  by  calling  in  the  passions  of  the  multitude 
to  decide  subjects  which  ought  to  have  been  left  to 
the  learned.  Goethe  thought  that  Erasmus  and 
men  like  Erasmus,  had  struck  on  the  right  track 
and  that  if  they  could  have  retained  the  direction 
of  the  mind  of  Europe,  there  would  have  been  more 
truth  and  less  falsehood  among  us  at  the  present 
time.  The  party  hatreds,  the  theological  rivalries, 
the  persecutions,  the  civil  wars,  the  religious  ani- 
mosities which  iave  so  long  distracted  us,  would 
have  been  all  avoided  and  the  mind  of  mankind 
would  have  expanded  gradually  and  equally  with 
the  growth  of  knowledge.'' 

89.    DID    THE    REFORMATION   REFORM   THE 
CHURCH? 

It  was  noticed  that  Guizot,  introducing  his  lecture 
on  this  period,  used  the  term,  "the  Reformation,'* 
only  with  some  hesitation.  It  is  the  custom  of  other 
writers  to  qualify  it  as  the  so-called  Reformation. 
It  is  asked,  did  the  Reformation  reform  the  Church? 

After  more  than  three  hundred  years,  the  Catho- 
lic Church,  as  such,  is  just  what  she  was  before 
the  revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century.  She  has 
the  same  doctrines  of  faith,  the  same  sacraments,  the 
same  constitution  of  government.  As  to  her  human 
side,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  her  children  are  three 
hundred   years    better,   with   three   hundred  years 

"Short  Studies,  V.  I.,  p.  48. 


DID  IT  REFORM?  425 

more  of  opportunity;  though  this  point  is  one  not 
easy  to  determine.  At  any  rate  the  characteristic 
work  of  the  Reformation  has  left  the  ancient  Church 
precisely  where  and  what  she  was.  The  results  of 
the  Reformation  must  be  looked  for  outside  of  the 
historic  Christian  Church. 

If  the  Reformation  did  not  reform  the  Church 
which  was  the  one  Christian  fold  of  its  day,  what 
did  it  effect?  It  created  Protestantism.  Its  effects 
are  seen  to-day  in  the  scores  of  sects  that  divide  the 
Christian  world.  These  ever-multiplying  bodies, 
are  divisions  and  subdivisions  of  the  Christians  who 
were  drawn  out  of  the  Catholic  unity  of  the  Church 
by  the  upheaval  of  the  sixteenth  century.  No  great 
secession  from  the  Catholic  Church  has  occurred 
since  that  time. 

Sects.  These  modern  denominations  will  take 
their  place  in  history  with  the  sects  that  afflicted  the 
Church  in  its  earlier  days, — with  the  Cerinthians 
and  Ebonites  of  the  first  century;  the  Gnostics  and 
Montanists  of  the  second;  the  Sabellians,  Novatians 
and  Manicheans  of  the  third;  the  Donatists  and 
Arians  of  the  fourth ;  the  Nestorians,  Pelagians, 
and  Monophysites  of  the  fifth;  who  following  the 
novel  doctrines  of  Cerinthus,  Montanus,  Sabellius, 
Novatus,  Arius,  Nestorius,  Donatus,  Pelagius  and 
other  heresiarchs,  went  out  from  the  unity  of  the 
Universal  Church  and  set  up  their  own  organiza- 
tions, in  defiance  of  her  authority  and  in  opposition 
to  her  faith.    ' 

The  very  names  of  these  heretical  sects  are  hardly 
known  to-day,  save  to  the  student  of  history.  Yet 
in  their  respective  centuries  they  were,  humanly 
speaking,  powerful  churches.  Great  ones  of  the 
world  were  counted  in  their  membership.  Leaders 
of  men  wedded  to  their  own  subtle  theories  more 
than   to   the   revelations   of   Christ,   through   these 


426  THE  KEFORMATION 

churches  that  have  given  their  names  an  unhappy 
fame,  led  the  sheep  of  Christ  from  the  fold  of  salva- 
tion. Arianism  was  espoused  by  Roman  Emperors 
just  turned  from  Paganism  and  eager  to  apply  to 
the  growing  Christian  religion,  the  politicians' 
maxim,  divide  et  impera,  divide  and  rule.  It  was 
able  to  drive  Catholic  bishops  from  their  sees.  St. 
Athanasius,  who  opposed  its  errors,  was  five  times 
sent  into  exile.  Its  influence  could  even  banish 
Pope  Liberius  from  Rome.  Yet  its  name  is  heard 
no  more.  One  by  one,  the  heretical  sects,  after  their 
longer  or  shorter  span  of  life,  went  the  way  of  all 
flesh.     The  Catholic  Church  alone  remains. 

From  these  early  aberrations  from  the  Christian 
organism,  the  modern  denominations  do  not  differ 
essentially.  They  are  sects:  they  teach  heresy  and 
are  in  schism  from  the  one  Church  of  Christ. 

Every  Wind  of  Doctrine.  Since  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury Protestantism  has  undergone  many  a  change. 
Like  a  fevered  man,  it  has  tossed  about  seeking  rest, 
yearning  and  unsatisfied.  Backward  and  forward 
has  swung  the  pendulum  of  change.  The  scores  of 
sects  betray  the  spirit  without  peace;  the  people 
blown  about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine.  In  Ger- 
many the  seventeenth  century  brought  the  Pietists 
and  Mystics  weary  of  the  wrangling  and  politics  of 
their  fathers.  The  eighteenth  saw  the  rationalism 
led  by  Grotius  and  Lessing.  In  the  nineteenth, 
Renan  the  French  rationalist  envied  the  German 
professors  and  higher  critics  who  could  be  Chris- 
tians and  infidels  at  the  same  time. 

17th  Century.  In  England  after  a  sorry  trial  of 
the  spiritual  supremacy  of  the  King,  there  came  the 
reaction  of  Puritanism.  **The  old  doctrine  of  a 
Catholic  Christianity,"  says  Green,^  *' flung  over 
them  its  spell.    Rome  indeed,  they  looked  upon  as 

»Hist..  Bk.  VI.,  Ch.  2. 


DID  IT  REFORM?  427 

Anti-Christ;  but  the  doctrine  which  Rome  had  held 
so  long  and  so  firmly,  the  doctrine'  that  truth  should 
be  co-extensive  with  the  world,  and  not  limited  by 
national  boundaries ;  that  the  Church  was  one  in  all 
countries  and  among  all  peoples ;  that  there  was  a 
Christendom  which  embraced  all  kingdoms  and  a 
Christian  law  that  ruled  peoples  and  kings,  became 
more  and  more  the  doctrine  of  Rome's  bitterest  en- 
emy. .  .  .  The  great  conception  of  the  mediaeval 
church,  that  of  the  responsibility  of  kings  to  a  spir- 
itual power,  was  revived  at  an  hour  when  kingship 
was  trampling  all  responsibility  to  God  and  man  be- 
neath its  feet." 

In  the  seventeenth  century  reaction,  the  Puritans, 
then  in  the  ascendency,  overthrew  the  Stuart 
dynasty,  and  seizing  the  government  persecuted  the 
sixteenth  century  Episcopalians  and  even  Presby- 
terians, as  well  as  the  Catholics.  While  fanat- 
icism persecuted  and  hypocrisy  mingled  with 
fanaticism,  both  described  their  miserable  deeds 
in  the  high  and  burning  language  of  the  Bible 
prophets.  When  Oliver  Cromwell  slaughtered  every 
man,  woman  and  child  in  the  Irish  garrison  of 
Drogheda,  he  wrote  of  ''this  great  thing"  which  he 
had  done  "by  the  spirit  of  God":  **It  hath  pleased 
God  to  bless  our  endeavors  at  Drogheda.  ...  I  be- 
lieve we  put  to  the  sword  the  whole  number  of  its 
defendants.  .  .  .  This  hath  been  a  marvelous  great 
mercy."  ''Religion,"  says  Green,  *'had  been 
turned  into  a  system  of  political  and  social  oppres- 
sion." 

18th  Century.  Then  again  reaction!  With  the 
gay  court  of  Charles  II  came  the  "corrupt  drama- 
tists," who  only  painted  society  as  they  saw  it.  By 
the  eighteenth  century  open  infidelity  took  the  place 
of  unreasoning  fanaticism  and  hypocritical  cant. 
The  Empiricism  of  Locke  issued  in  rank  materialism. 


428  THE  REFORMATION 

Gibbon  and  Hume  rewrote  history  from  the  view- 
point of  rationalism.  Shaftesbury,  Bolinbroke,  Her- 
bert, Toland,  Woolston,  Collins,  Lyons  and  others 
attacked  the  Bible,  Christianity  and  sometimes  all 
religion  with  the  weapons  of  sophistry  and  ridicule. 
Voltaire  and  the  French  infidels,  says  Lecky,  learned 
their  principles  from  the  English  free-thinkers.  The 
artificial  poets  replaced  Milton.  Fielding  and  Smol- 
let  were  preferred  to  Bunyan.  Hudibras  was  the 
most  popular  of  books.  Swift  and  Sterne  were  the 
glory  and  shame  of  the  clergy.  The  gloomy  and 
often  absurd  severity  of  manners  of  the  Protectorate 
reacted  in  the  frivolities  of  the  Restoration  and  suc- 
ceeding reigns. 

Then  Methodism  arose  in  an  effort  to  galvanize 
moribund  English  Protestantism  into  some  spiritual 
life. 

19th  Century.  In  the  nineteenth  century,  the  Ox- 
ford movement  betrayed  again  the  religious  unrest 
of  many  of  the  finest  minds  in  the  English  estab- 
lished church,  in  its  reapproachment  to  the  old  Cath- 
olic faith  and  practices,  which  issued  in  the  conver- 
sion of  John  Henry  Newman,  Henry  Edward 
Manning  and  so  many  others  to  Rome,  and  in 
the  development  of  a  large  Romanizing  party  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Anglican  body  itself.  Outside  the 
Anglican  establishment,  the  same  religious  unrest 
among  Protestant  Christians  is  shown  by  the  mul- 
tiplication of  petty  sects  which  the  English  and 
American  people  support,  and  in  one  after  the  other 
of  which  they  seek  the  peace  and  light  which  their 
souls  crave  and  expect  from  religion  and  have  not 
found. 

The  teachings  of  these  sects  run  the  whole  gamut 
of  orthodoxy  and  heterodoxy.  They  approach  close 
to  Catholicism  and  they  extend  beyond  the  danger 
line  of  infidelity.     Every  conceivable  theory  is  dog- 


DID  IT  REFORM?  429 

matically  asserted  by  some  and  as  stoutly  denied  by 
others.  The  triune  God,  the  divinity  of  Christ,  the 
inspiration  of  the  Bible,  the  fall  and  original  sin, 
free-will  and  moral  responsibility,  atonement  and 
grace,  the  Church,  the  priesthood,  the  sacraments, 
the  need  of  Baptism,  the  divine  presence  in  the  Eu- 
charist, the  observance  of  Sunday,  divorce  and  re- 
marriage, race-suicide,  polygamy,  spiritism,  faith- 
cure,  the  right  of  private  property,  one  and  all  of 
these  doctrines,  and  more  besides,  are  defended  as 
true  and  assailed  as  false,  by  so-called  Christian 
sects. 

The  myriad  forms  of  Protestantism  find  a  common 
bond  only  in  the  negative  characteristic  that  they 
are  not  Catholic.  Anything  else  it  may  or  may  not 
be:  that  depends  upon  the  individuaFs  judgment; 
but  Protestantism  is  always  this,  it  is  outside  of  the 
unity  of  the  historic  Church  and  in  protest  against 
it.  In  whatever  else  the  sects  may  disagree,  in  this 
they  are  at  one.  The  one  essential  characteristic  of 
all  Protestantism  is  not  what  it  is,  but  what  it  is  not : 
not  the  particular  doctrines  which  its  many  divi- 
sions may  uphold,  but  the  fact  that  they  are  all  in 
schism  from  the  Church.  This  negative  nature  of 
the  work  of  the  Reformation  is  fatefully  expressed 
in  the  common  name  Protestantism. 

Meantime  many  of  the  rising  generation,  often  ed- 
ucated college-men  and  other  promising  youths,  to 
whom  the  claims  of  the  Christian  religion  have  never 
been  adequately  presented,  but  who  have  been 
trained  by  science  to  know  the  necessary  unity  of 
truth,  drop  into  agnosticism  and  point  to  the  babel 
of  sects  around  them  in  defense  of  their  silent  disre- 
gard of  all  organized  religion.  Misdirected  work- 
ingmen,  lured  into  socialism,  accept  the  dreams  of 
its  leaders  as  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Infidels 
are  ever  ready  to  glorify  the  Reformation :  pointing 


430  THE  REFOKMATION 

out  that  from  private  interpretation  to  rationalism, 
is  a  step  logical  and  short;  and  praising  Luther  as 
the  hero  who  blazed  the  path  to  free-thought  by- 
destroying  for  multitudes  the  spiritual  authority  of 
the  Church. 

Twentieth  Century.  With  the  twentieth  century, 
Protestantism  as  an  active  principle  has  about  spent 
its  force.  Its  followers  no  longer  glory  in  the  name. 
*'We  do  not  any  longer  take  special  pride  in  the  des- 
ignation of  Protestant,"  says  the  Independent.^  **It 
was  good  enough  once.  .  .  .  There  is  not  a  denomi- 
nation in  this  country  that  has  the  word  Protestant 
in  its  name,  which  is  not  trying  to  get  rid  of  it." 
Men  who  know  the  Catholic  Church  have  no  protest 
against  it:  and  no  honest  man  will  protest  against 
it,  without  knowing  it. 

As  men  are  more  intelligent,  they  appreciate  the 
more,  the  glory  of  the  Catholic  name.  As  early  as 
the  year  110,  St.  Ignatius  employed  the  term  Cath- 
olic, as  the  proper  name  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
Signifying  universal,  it  corresponds  to  the  univer- 
sality of  the  Christian  religion.  It  distinguishes  the 
historic  Christian  body  which  from  the  days  of  Christ 
has  continued  in  the  unity  of  faith  and  the  bond  of 
charity,  from  those  Avho  though  professing  the  name 
of  Christ,  followed  other  leaders  out  of  His  divinely 
constituted  Church,  and  were  thus  no  longer  part 
of  that  Church  but  sects,  being  cut  off  from  it.  The 
sect  bears  the  name  of  a  man,  a  country,  an  epoch, 
or  of  a  particular  point  of  doctrine  or  polity.  It  is 
Lutheran  or  Anglican  or  Southern  Presbyterian  or 
Baptist  or  Methodist  Episcopal.  The  true  Church  is 
neither  man-made,  nor  national,  nor  sectional.  It 
stands  for  all  of  Christ 's  teaching.  It  exists  in  every 
century.  Its  mission  is  to  all  nations  and  all  men. 
It  is  universal.     It  is  Catholic. 

'  N.  Y.,  Sept.  17,  1908,  p.  620. 


DID  IT  REFORM?  431 

At  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century  thought- 
ful men  see  in  the  world  two  general  tendencies: 
one  toward  the  camps  of  agnosticism  and  socialism, 
the  other  toward  the  conservatism  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  The  growth  of  higher  education,  larger 
opportunity  of  travel,"  the  good  citizenship  of  the 
Catholic  millions,  the  writings  of  Leo  XIII  on  Di- 
vorce, Education,  Capital  and  Labor,  have  been  an 
aurora  to  drive  away  the  darkness  of  ignorance  and 
misunderstanding  tliat  blind  men  to  the  historic 
Church.  At  the  same  time  the  destructive  work  of 
the  higher  critics,  the  spread  of  religious  indiffer- 
ence, the  disintegration  of  the  sects,  the  menace  of 
socialism  and  anarchy,  lead  conservative  Christians 
to  look  toward  that  historic  Church  as  still  the 
citadel  of  Christian  faith  and  morals. 

Thousands  of  Non-Catholics  come  back  to  the  old 
Church  each  year  seeking  light  and  peace.  What- 
ever was  good  or  true  or  beautiful  among  the  teach- 
ings of  their  sects,  they  find  had  been  taught  by  the 
Catholic  Church  from  the  beginning.  If  they  leave 
anything  behind  them,  it  is  error.  If  they  learn 
anything  new,  it  is  Christian  truth  that  had  till  now 
escaped  their  notice.  They  lose  nothing,  but  gain 
all.  For  the  sects  that  rend  the  body  of  Christ, 
Catholics  can  have  no  approving  word.  With  the 
Scriptures  *  we  must  condemn  the  divisions  brought 
in  by  the  pride  of  men  to  disrupt  the  unity  which  is 
the  will  of  God  and  a  mark  of  His  Church.^  But  we 
have  only  the  kindest  good-will  and  the  sincerest 
love  for  the  many  Non-Catholics  who,  often  without 
fault  of  their  own  or  appreciation  of  their  position, 
are  outside  the  pale  of  the  Church  and  affiliated  with 

'Toward  the  end  of  Innocents  Abroad,  Mark  Twain  says:  "Travel  is 
fatal  to  prejudice,  bigotry  and  narrow-mindedness:  and  many  of  our 
people  need  it  sorelv   on  that  account." 

♦11.  Peter  2,  1-3;  Gal.  5,  20-21;  II.  Cor.  11,  13;  II.  Tim.  4,  3-4; 
Mt.  7,   15.* 

"John  17,  20-21;  1.  16;  Eph.  4,  3-6;  Rom.  12,  4-5;  Col.  8.  5. 


432  THE  REFORMATION 

sects  that  oppose  it,''  Converts  are  welcomed  home 
to  the  Church  of  their  forefathers  where  they  find 
a  peace  never  known  before.  They  experience  the 
sense  of  security  described  by  both  Newman  and 
Manning  after  many  years  in  the  Catholic  Church. 
"From  the  hour,"  says  the  latter,  ''that  I  submitted 
to  the  divine  voice  which  speaks  through  the  one 
Catholic  and  Roman  Church,  I  have  never  known  so 
much  as  a  momentary  shadow  of  doubt  to  pass  over 
my  reason  or  my  conscience."  ''From  the  day  that 
I  became  a  Catholic  to  this  day,  now  close  upon  thirty 
years,"  writes  Cardinal  Newman,  "I  have  never  had 
a  moment's  misgiving." 

Lead  Kindly  Light.  The  favorite  hymn  of  those 
who  still  hesitate  without,  is  the  "Lead,  Kindly 
Light,"  penned  by  Newman  in  those  dark  days  when 
he  was  groping  his  way,  from  what  he  called  the 
"city  of  confusion,"  to  the  Church  of  Christ. 

Lead,  kindly  Light,  amid  th'  encircling  gloom, 

Lead  Thou  me  on; 
The  night  is  dark,  and  I  am  far  from  home, 
/         Lead  Thou  me  on;  ^ 

Keep  Thou  my  feet;  I  do  not  ask  to  see 
The  distant  scene;  one  step  enough  for  me. 

I  was  not  ever  thus,  nor  prayed  that  Thou 

Shouldst  lead  me  on; 
I  loved  to  choose  and  see  my  path;   but  now 

Lead  Thou  me  on; 
I  loved  the  garish  day;    and  spite  of  fears, 
Pride  ruled  my  will;  remember  not  past  years. 

So  long  Thy  power  hath  blest  me,  sure  it  still 

Will  lead  me  on. 
O'er  moor  and  fen,  o'er  crag  and  torrent,  till 

The  night  is  gone. 
And  with  the  morn  those   angel  faces  smile. 
Which  I  have  loved  long  since,  and  lost  awhile. 

•Well  meaning  people  may  unconsciously  persecute  Christ.     Act.  9.  4. 


STATISTICS  OF  RELIGION 


433 


90.     STATISTICS  OF  RELIGION. 
Religious  Divisions  of  World. 

Christians    615,349,416 

Jews     12,989,751 

Mohammedans  207,067,840 

Brahmins    210,000,000 

Buddhists      125,270,000 

Confucian  and  Ancestor  Worshipc 240,000,000 

Taoists  and  Shintoists   49,000,000 

Fetish,   etc A 91,604,000 

Divisions  of  Christians. 


Asia     

Africa     

Europe    

America     

Australia      and 
Oceanica    .  .  . 

Total     .  .  . 


Catholics. 

12,661,498 

2,689.839 

1^8,517,058 

87,614,635 

1,244,055 

292,787,085 


Orthodox, 

13,806,000 

113, '73  5,7 18 


127,541,718 


Oriental 
Schismatics 

2,919,000 

5,823,989 

232,000 


8,974.989 


Protestants. 

2,354,817 

2,634,660 

106,200,177 

70,868,923 

3,997,047 

186,055,624 


Christian  Division  of  Europe. 

Catholic 

Austria  Hungary    35,000,000 

Belgium     7,000,000 

Bulgaria     29,000 

Denmark     3,000 

France     35,000,000 

Germany     20,000,000 

Great    Britain    and    Ireland    .   7,000,000 

Greece    10,000 

Italy      30,000,000 

Luxemburg     200,000 

Malta     160,000 

Montenegro  ^ 5,000 

Netherlands    1,700,000 

Norway     2,000 


Orthodox  Protestant 
3,500,000     4,000,000 
15,000 
1,400,000 

2,000,000 

600,000 

30,000,000 

30,000,000 

2,000,000  10,000 

65.000 


290,000 


2,800,000 
1,900,000 


^34 


THE  REFORMATION 


Catholic 

Ottoman  Empire   320,000 

Portugal    4,300,000 

Roumelia  30,000 

Roumania    100,000 

Russia 10,000,000 

Servia ^  ... .  6,000 

Spain    18,000.000 

Sweden    2,000 

Switzerland 1,200,000 


Orthodox 

Protest. 

1,700,000 

11,000 

700,000 

4,800,000 

15,000 

75,000,000 

3,500,000 

2,000,000 

1,000 

30,000 

4,600,000 

1.800,000 

Denominations  in  United  States 


Name  Bodies 

Catholic  Church 1 

Baptist    17 

Brethren  (Dunkers) . .  5 
Christian  Church  ....  1 
Churches  of  Christ...  1 
Congregationalists  . .  1 
Disciples  of  Christ...  1 

Sastern  Orthodox 7 

Evangelical  Assn.  ...  1 

Friends   4 

Gr  e  r  m  an  Evangelical 

Synod    1 

Jewish  Congregations  1 

Latter  Day  Saints 2 

Lutherans    21 

Mennonites    16 

Methodist 17 

Presbyterians   10 

Protestant  Episcopal.  1 

Reformed  4 

United  Brethren   2 

Unitarians 1 

All  other  Sects 81 


Members 

17,549,324 

7,236,650 

134,373 

117,853. 

319,211. 

790,163 
1,231.404 

250,340. 

120,756 

114,714 

342,788. 

359,998. 

462,332 
2,463,465 
79,591 
7,165,986 
2,257,439 
1,098173 

533,356 

367,620 
72,000 

647,868. 


Founder  Origin 

Jesus  Christ 33 

Roger  Williams..  1639 
Alex.  Mack 1708 


Robt.  Browne 1583 

Alex.  Campbell... 1810 

jacoij  Alisright . . .  1800 
George  Fox 1624 


1817 


Jos.  Smith 

Martin  Luther . . . 
Mennon  Simonis, 

John   Wesley 

Calvin  &  Knox . . 

Henry  VIII 

Zwingle    

Otterbein    

Channing 

f 


1830 
1524 

1739 
1560 
1534 
1531 
1760 
1815 


Catholic  statistics  from  Catholic  Directory,  1919;  others 
from  World  Almanac  1919.  New  world  and  European 
statistics  are  not  available  since  the  war. 


STATISTICS  OF  RELIGION  435 


Note:  The  war  services  of  the  Catholic  people  of  the  United 
States  furnished  again  evidence  already  abundantly  available 
from  other  sources,  that  our  statistics  of  Catholic  population 
and  institutions  were  no  idle  figures,  as  in  patriotism  and  com- 
parative numbers  our  Catholic  people  were  unsurpassed. 

Meeting  in  Washington  in  April,  1917,  the  Cardinals  and 
Archbishops  representing  the  Church  in  the  United  States 
pledged  to  the  Government  the  moral  and  material  support  of 
our  people  and  the  use  of  our  institutions.  The  Catholic  Na- 
tional War  Council,  headed  by  representatives  of  the  hierarchy 
and  laity,  directed  and  unified  our  many  activities,  spiritual, 
social  and  material;  and  after  the  war  devoted  their  splendid 
organization  to  a  reconstruction  program. 

While  Catholics  formed  only  a  sixth  of  the  population  of 
the  country,  it  was  found  that  36  per  cent  of  the  Army  and 
more  of  the  Navy  were  Catholic  men.  We  were  accordingly 
given  36.7  per  cent  of  the  army  chaplains,  whose  work  was 
supplemented  by  the  Knights  of  Columbus  chaplains. 

At  the  invitation  of  the  Government,  the  Knights  of  Colum- 
bus conducted  among  Soldiers  and  Sailors  at  home  and  abroad, 
welfare  work  such  as  they  had  carried  on  among  our  soldiers 
on  the  Mexican  border  even  before  the  war.  Millions  of  dol- 
lars were  used  for  this  work,  and  with  such  wise  economy 
that  the  organization  was  able  to  give  free  of  charge,  to  our 
men  in  uniform,  endless  creature  comforts,  as  well  as  moral, 
social  and  educational  care.  The  only  criticism  of  the  K,  of 
C.  work  was  the  enthusiastic  endorsement  by  the  men  in  the 
ranks  and  the  grateful  approbation  of  Generals  Foch  and 
Pershing,  of  the  United  States  and  the  French  Governments 
and  all  others  concerned.  Our  colleges,  hospitals,  nurses'  train- 
ing schools,  churches  and  publications  each  in  their  own  way 
gave  loyal  service  to  our  country;  as  did  our  Catholic  women. 

Among  the  heroic  Catholic  figures  in  the  war  stand  out: 
Ferdinand  Foch,  Generalissimo  of  the  Allies;  Cardinal  Mercier, 
Primate  of  Belgium;  Admiral  Benson,  ranking  officer  of  our 
Navy  and  its  representative  at  the  Peace  Conference,  and. 
above  all.  Pope  Benedict  XV,  who  used  his  great  influence  to 
promote  peace,  and,  failing  that,  devoted  his  resources  to  allevi- 
ating the  horrors  of  war.  During  the  war  England  maintained 
a  representative  at  the  Vatican,  through  whom  the  Pope  was 
able  to  deal  diplomatically  with  the  Allies.  Recognizing  the 
Christian  charity  of  the  Holy  Father,  which  rises  above  all  the 
misunderstandings  of  men  and  nations,  Catholics  of  every 
country  remained  loyal  to  their  Christian  faith  and  its  inter- 
national brotherhood,  and  at  the  close  of  the  war  the  Churcb 
finds    herself    stronger    than    ever, 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES 

91.     THE  EARLIEST  AMERICANS. 

The  history  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United 
States  is  not  co-extensive  with  the  history  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  America.  The  latter  is  a  much 
larger  theme.  The  earliest  history  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  America  is  written  in  the  Sagas  of  the 
Norsemen,  sung  still  by  the  Icelanders  of  to-day,  tell- 
ing of  the  voyages  of  their  fathers  almost  a  thousand 
years  ago. 

Before  entering  upon  the  long  chapter  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  religious  revolutions  which  filled  the  six- 
teenth century,  we  chronicled  the  feats  that  immor- 
tally linked  with  America  the  names  of  her  Catholic 
discoverers  in  the  century  before  Calvin  and  Knox 
were  born  or  Luther  and  Henry  VIII  raised  the  flag 
of  rebellion  against  the  authority  of  the  Christian 
Church ;  as  also  the  deeds  of  the  explorers  and  mis- 
sionaries of  Catholic  France  and  Spain,  who  planted 
the  seeds  of  civilization  and  religion  throughout 
South  America,  and  in  the  north  made  their  way  to 
the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi,  to  the  Great 
Lakes  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  while  half  of  Europe 
exhausted  its  strength  in  internecine  religious  strife. 

The  names  of  the  first  Americans  who  cast  in  their 
lot  with  the  country  of  their  adoption,  make  a  roll 

436 


EARLIEST  AMERICANS  437 

of  honor  of  Catholic  heroes.  There  are  the  great 
discoverers,  Columbus,  the  Cabots,  Americus  Ves- 
puccius.  There  are  the  master  explorers  like  De 
Soto,  Balboa,  Cortez,  Champlain^  Joliet,  Cartier,  La 
Salle.  There  are  the  bold  colonizers  like  Iberville, 
Bienville,  Cadillac,  Duluth,  Vincennes,  not  to  men- 
tion the  English  Lord  Baltimore.  There  are  the  mis- 
sionaries from  Las  Casas  and  the  priests  who  sailed 
with  Columbus  and  Cabot,  to  Father  Juniper  Serra 
and  his  brother  apostles  of  California.  These  mis- 
sionaries were  often  scientists  as  well  as  saints. 
With  the  name  of  Le  Moyne  stand  those  of  Roche 
d'Allon,  Mare  and  other  priests,  Franciscans  and 
Jesuits,  as  the  geologists  and  botanists  who  identified 
our  herbs,  and  found  the  salt  springs  of  Onondaga, 
the  oil-springs  of  Pennsylvania,  the  copper  of  Lake 
Superior,  the  lead  of  Illinois,  our  beds  of  coal  and 
our  mines  of  turquoise.  Among  the  philologists  of-, 
the  Indian  languages,  stand  out  Fathers  Rales, 
White,  Sagard,  Pareya,  Bruya,  Garnier,  Garcia,  Le 
Boulanger,  Cuesta,  Sitjar,  who  for  almost  two  cen- 
turies before  the  Revolution  were  publishing  diction- 
aries, grammars,  catechisms  and  prayer  books,  in  the 
tongues  of  the  Abnaki,  Mohawks,  Seneca,  Cayuga, 
Onondaga,  Illinois,  Wyandot,  and  the  tribes  of  Flor- 
ida, Maryland,  Texas  and  California.  Among  the 
apostles  and  martyrs  who  have  left  us  the  earliest 
histtfry  of  our  land  in  the  Jesuit  Relations,  are  num- 
bered Fathers  Marquette,  Hennepin,  Isaac  Jogues, 
Raymbault,  Menard,  Allouez,  Breboeuf,  Lallemand, 
Daniel,  Biard,  Rale,  Masse,  and  many  more,  of 
whom  Bancroft  could  say:  "Thus  did  the  religious 
zeal  of  the  French  bear  the  cross  to  the  banks  of 
the  St.  Mary  (Sault  Ste.  Marie),  and  the  confines 
of  Lake  Superior  and  look  wistfully  toward  the 
homes  of  the  Sioux  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi 
before  the  New  England  Eliot  had  addressed  a  tribe 


438       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

of  Indians  that  dwelt  within  six  miles  of  Boston 
Harbor.'^ 

When  the  Louisiana  Purchase  of  1803  ceded  to 
the  United  States  the  vast  domain  explored  by  the 
French  and  Spaniards,  Napoleon  well  remarked: 
''This  accession  of  territory  establishes  forever  the 
power  of  the  United  States.'' 

92.    CATHOLIC    COLONISTS    AND   RELIGIOUS 
LIBERTY. 

With  the  coming  of  the  English  colonies  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  came  also  English  Catholics ; 
and  their  principles  and  conduct  were  worthy  of 
their  illustrious  fellow-religionists  who  had  been  the 
pathfinders  of  America.  The  Colony  of  Maryland 
was  founded  by  Lord  Baltimore,  as  an  asylum  for 
the  Catholics  of  England  who  were  then  suffering 
the  most  inhuman  persecution  for  their  faith.  On 
March  25,  1634,  the  Ark  and  the  Dove  entered 
Chesapeake  Bay  and  sailed  up  the  Potomac.  Mass 
of  Thanksgiving  was  celebrated  by  the  Jesuit  Fa- 
thers White  and  Altham.  The  colonists  purchased 
land  from  the  Indians  and  called  their  settlement 
St.  Mary's. 

Home  of  Religious  Liberty.  Lord  Baltimore  had 
been  given  the  most  extensive  privileges  ever  con- 
ferred on  a  colonizer  by  an  English  sovereign.  It 
is  to  the  glory  of  the  Catholic  Calverts  that  they 
used  their  power  to  establish  in  America  a  home 
for  religious  liberty — the  only  home,  as  Bancroft 
says,  it  then  possessed  in  the  world.  The  Catholic 
Colonists  who  had  been  exiled  from  England  by 
religious  persecution  and  refused  refuge  on  the 
shores  of  Virginia  on  account  of  their  faith,  were 
not  content  to  practice  religious  toleration,  but  en- 
acted its  principle  into  a  law  of  Maryland,  which 


RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY  439 

gave  equal  rights  in  religion  to  all  Christians.  In 
answer  to  Lord  Baltimore's  invitation,  says  Ban- 
croft/ ''from  France  came  Huguenots,^  from  Ger- 
many, from  Holland,  from  Sweden,  from  Finland 
the  children  of  misfortune  sought  protection  under 
the  tolerant  scepter  of  the  Roman  Catholic."  And 
he  adds:  ''Calvert  deserves  to  be  ranked  among 
the  most  wise  and  benevolent  lawgivers  of  all 
ages. ' ' 

The  significance  of  Maryland's  action  in  thus  be- 
ing the  first  to  make  religious  freedom  the  law  of 
the  land,  cannot  be  overestimated.  It  is  one  of 
the  grandest  deeds  in  the  history  of  our  country. 
The  little  seed  thus  planted  was,  as  shall  be  seen, 
the  germ  from  which  sprang  our  constitutional  lib- 
erty of  conscience  of  which  we  proudly  boast. 

Environment  of  Intolerance.  To  appreciate  fully 
the  magnanimity  of  the  Maryland  law,  we  must 
view  it  in  its  environment  of  the  early  17th  century. 
The  peace  of  Westphalia  had  not  yet  brought  about 
some  understanding  between  the  hostile  factions 
stirred  up  by  the  religious  revolution  of  the  pre- 
ceding century.  England  was  still  in  the  throes 
of  the  Reformation.  English  Catholics  lay  pros- 
trated and  crushed  by  the  persecution  which  in 
the  long  reign  of  Elizabeth  had  sufficiently  ac- 
complished  its   work,   but   which   the   advisers   of 

^Hist.  of  U.   S.,  Vol.   I.,  p.  244. 

'In  the  St.  Bartholomew  day  massacre  of  1572  Huguenots  (about 
786)  fell  not  as  martyrs  to  the  Protestant  faith,  but  as  followers  of 
the  revolutionary  party  whose  leaders  aimed  at  nothing  short  of  the 
French  throne. 

The  massacre  was  entirely  a  political  move.  How  little  religion  had 
to  do  with  it  may  be  judged  from  the  religious  indifference  of  the 
leaders  of  both  parties.  The  Catholic  Church  had  nothing  to  do  with 
this  atrocity  except  to  condemn  its  horror.  It  is  true  that  Pope  Greg- 
ory, who  was  deceived  by  the  first  reports  of  the  trouble  which  reached 
Rome  through  the  couriers  of  the  French  King,  had  the  Te  Deum  sung 
in  thanksgiving  that  the  life  of  the  king  had  been  saved  from  con- 
spirators. When  the  Pope  learned  the  rest  of  the  story  he  wept  with 
sorrow  and  condemned  the  horror.  Lord  Acton  ascribes  this  massacre, 
like  much  more  so-called  religious  persecution,  to  the  principal  of  state 
solidarity. 


440       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

Kings  James  and  Charles  had  forced  them  to  keep 
up.  Those  English  Protestants  who  were  as  de- 
termined as  their  Catholic  neighbors  to  resist  the 
galling  tyranny  of  the  politico-religious  establish- 
ment called  the  national  Church  of  England,  were 
gathering  their  forces  for  a  mighty  struggle.  These 
Puritans,  as  they  were  called,  had  sent  a  colony  to 
Massachusetts,  to  find  in  the  new  world  ''freedom 
to  worship  God,''  a  few  years  before  the  coming  of 
Lord  Baltimore's  Catholic  colony.  A  few  years 
after  it,  their  brethren  in  England,  around  the 
standard  of  Cromwell,  were  to  seize  the  government 
and  under  forms  of  law  to  strike  off  the  heads  of 
King  Charles  I  and  of  Archbishop  Laud,  the  pri- 
mate of  the  national  church.  The  fever  of  fanati- 
cism was  in  the  air.  Persecution  begot  religious 
hatred.  Party  spirit  begot  bigotry.  Lust  of  power 
begot  intolerance. 

Colonial  Intolerance.  Most  of  the  men  that 
formed  our  original  colonies  were  unable  to  rise 
above  these  limitations  of  their  day.  To  America 
they  came  seeking  ''freedom  to  worship  God." 
But  they  sought  this  freedom  for  themselves  only. 
On  the  wild  shores  of  the  new  world,  along  with 
the  palings  which  they  raised  to  keep  out  the  sav- 
age Indians,  they  made  laws  of  persecution  to 
keep  out  of  their  midst  and  to  ;imite  with  outrage 
and  death,  the  neighbor  whose  conscience  might 
lead  him  to  worship  God  in  a  manner  different  from 
their  own. 

Virginia  was  a  royal  province  and  no  one  could 
settle  there  unless  he  took  the  "oath  of  Suprem- 
acy," acknowledging  the  King  of  England  as  the 
head  of  the  Church  of  God.  All  but  Episcopalians 
were  thus  banned.  No  priest  could  enter  the  col- 
ony. No  Catholic  could  be  a  witness  in  a  court  of 
justice. 


RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY  441 

New  England  Puritans  provided  that  no  man 
should  be  admitted  to  the  freedom  of  their  body 
politic,  but  such  as  were  members  of  one  of  their 
Congregational  Churches.  The  poor  Quakers  flee- 
ing from  persecution  in  England,  arrived  at  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay  only  to  have  their  ears  cut  off  and 
be  flogged  and  turned  adrift;  and  be  hanged  till 
dead  if  they  returned  to  the  colony.  The  heartless 
exile  of  Roger  Williams  into  the  trackless  winter 
forests,  the  refinement  of  cruelty  which  tortured 
Anne  Hutchinson,  the  Witchcraft  panic  stirred  up 
by  Cotton  Mather  and  other  Puritan  ministers,  re- 
veal the  bigotry  of  colonial  New  England. 

Bigotry  Lost  Canada.  The  bitter  protests  sent 
to  England  by  the  American  colonists  and  even 
voiced  by  the  Continental  Congress,  when  the  Brit- 
ish Parliament  passed  the  Quebec  Act  (1774)  recog- 
nizing the  right  of  the  French  Colonies  of  Canada 
to  practice  their  Catholic  religion  (and  thus 
shrewdly  securing  their  allegiance  in  the  stress  of 
the  approaching  Revolution),  may  be  said  to  have 
been  the  chief  cause  why  the  Canadians  refused  to 
join  us  in  our  struggle  with  the  mother  country. 
Indeed  so  little  was  appreciation  of  religious  liberty 
a  virtue  of  our  early  English  colonists,  that  despite 
the  wise  provisions  which  the  exigencies  of  the 
times  made  a  part  of  our  federal  constitution,  even 
well  into  the  nineteenth  century  laws  of  religious 
intolerance  continued  to  disgrace  the  statute  books 
of  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey, 
North  Carolina,  New  York  and  Connecticut. 

Liberty  Betrayed.  The  bright  beacon-light  of  re- 
ligious liberty  set  up  by  the  Catholic  Colony  of 
Maryland  and  which  contrasted  so  gloriously  with 
the  surrounding  darkness  of  intolerance,  was  not 
destined  to  remain.  It  was  to  be  put  out,  by  the 
very  men  who  had  turned  to  it  in  their  shipwreck 


442       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

and  had  found  welcome  and  a  safe  harbor.  Puri- 
tans fleeing  from  persecution  in  Anglican  Virginia, 
prelatists  driven  out  of  Puritan  New  England,  had 
found  citizenship  in  Maryland.  "But,"  says  Ban- 
croft, **the  Puritans  had  neither  the  gratitude  to 
respect  the  rights  of  the  government  by  which  they 
had  been  received  and  fostered,  nor  magnanimity 
to' continue  the  toleration  to  which  alone  they 
were  indebted  for  their  residence  in  the  colony." 
Three  times  they  rose  up  in  rebellion  against  the 
Baltimores,  and  struck  at  the  religious  liberty  of 
the  colony. 

In  the  Clayborne  rebellion  of  1645,  the  Jesuit 
missionaries  were  sent  in  chains  to  England  and 
many  Catholics  robbed  and  banished.  When  the 
rebellion  was  suppressed,  at  the  instance  of  Lord 
Baltimore  the  Act  Concerning  Religion  (1649),  was 
passed,  securing  again  the  colony's  practice  of  free- 
dom of  conscience. 

"With  the  execution  of  Charles  I  the  Puritans 
hastening  to  espouse  the  cause  of  Cromwell,  seized 
the  Maryland  government,  revoked  the  Toleration 
Act,  and  passed  a  law  that  "none  who  professed 
and  exercised  the  Popish  religion  could  be  protected 
in  the  Province."  With  the  Restoration  in  1660, 
Lord  Baltimore  regained  his  rights  and  the  Tolera- 
tion Act  was  again  revived  to  the  fullest  extent. 

Peace  reigned  till  the  accession  of  William  and 
Mary  (1688),  when  the  Puritans  rebelled,  and 
formed  an  "Association  for  the  defense  of  the  Prot- 
estant Religion."  Maryland  became  a  royal  prov- 
ince. The  Church  of  England  finally  was  made 
the  established  religion  of  Maryland.  Catholics 
were  disfranchised,  and  compelled  to  pay  tithes 
for  the  support  of  the  Anglican  establishment. 
Bishops  and  priests  could  not  exercise  their  minis- 
try in  public.     Catholics  were  taxed  double,  and 


RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY  443 

declared  incompetent  to  purchase  or  inherit  lands. 
The  law  put  "Irish  Papists"  on  a  footing  with  negro 
slaves.  For  seventy  years  before  the  Revolution, 
Catholics  could  attend  Mass  only  in  their  private 
homes.  Thus  were  Catholics  outraged  in  the  Amer- 
ican Colony  which  they  had  made  the  land  of  the 
sanctuary  and  an  asylum  of  liberty  for  all  Chris- 
tians. 

Gov.  Dongan  of  New  York.  As  intolerance 
quenched  the  light  of  religious  liberty  in  Maryland, 
its  first  American  home,  so  did  it  elsewhere.  The 
Rhode  Island  law  of  1663,  passed  through  the  in- 
fluence and  to  the  immortal  honor  of  Roger  Wil- 
liams, was  changed  in  1719,  to  deny  the  rights  of 
citizenship  to  Catholics  and  Jews.  The  liberal 
charter  given  to  William  Penn  by  Charles  II  in 
1681,  was  so  altered  in  1693,  that  till  the  Revolution 
no  one  could  hold  even  the  most  petty  office  without 
taking  an  oath  denying  the  Real  Presence  and 
declaring  the  Mass  idolatrous.  When  New  York 
held  its  first  legislative  assembly  after  passing  from 
the  Dutch  to  the  English,  its  Governor,  Thomas 
Dongan,  an  Irishman  and  a  Catholic,  drew  up  a 
Charter  of  Liberties  (1683)  guaranteeing  freedom 
of  conscience  and  religious  liberty  to  all  Christians. 
A  later  assembly  (1691)  reenacted  Dongan 's  char- 
ter with  one  change:  religious  liberty  was  denied 
to  Catholics,  whose  priests  were  expelled  from  the 
colony  and  laymen  disfranchised.  This  pioneer  of 
religious  freedom  in  America,  Frost  in  his  history 
significantly  describ(^s  as  "a  man  of  high  integrity, 
unblemished  character  and  great  moderation,  who 
although  a  Catholic,  ( !)  may  be  ranked  among  the 
best  of  our  governors. '' 


444       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

93.    CATHOLICS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION. 

As  in  the  colonial  period  of  our  country's  history, 
Catholics  stood  out  persistently  and  in  the  face  of 
death-dealing  opposition  for  that  liberty  of  con- 
science which  would  later  be  hailed  as  the  glory 
of  our  constitution,  so  in  the  Revolution,  according 
to  their  numbers  and  means,  they  worked  without 
stain  or  reproach  for  the  liberty  of  man. 

Every  Catholic  was  a  Whig.  While  Methodists, 
with  John  Wesley,  sided  with  England,  and  a  very 
large  portion  of  the  Episcopalians  took  the  same 
course,  and  Quakers  conscientiously  averse  to  war, 
remained  neutral,  the  Catholics  spontaneously  and 
universally  adhered  to  the  cause  of  independence. 
With  the  Catholic  colonists  fought  Catholic  sol- 
diers of  other  nationalities,  who  came  from  Catholic 
Prance  and  Catholic  Poland  with  Lafayette,  Roch- 
ambeau,  Fleury,  Dupartial,  Lowzon,  Count  De 
Gras,  Pulaski,  DeKalb,  Kosciusko  and  the  other  lov- 
ers of  liberty  who  were  a  providence  in  our  hour 
of  need  and  to  whose  memory  America  will  never 
be  ungrateful. 

Saucy  Jack  Barry.  On  the  seas  the  great  Com- 
modore of  our  Navy  was  John  Barry.  To  detach 
him  from  the  American  cause.  Lord  Howe  offered 
him  15,000  guineas  and  the  command  of  the  best 
frigate  in  the  English  Navy.  ''I  have  devoted  my- 
self,^' was  his  answer,  ''to  the  cause  of  America,  and 
not  the  value  and  command  of  the  whole  British 
fleet  can  seduce  me  from  it.'*  This  ''Saucy  Jack 
Barry,  father  of  the  American  Navy,"  like  many 
of  his  mariners,  was  a  Catholic  and  an  Irishman. 
A  large  part  of  the  valiant  army  of  Mad  Anthony 
Wayne  were  German  and  Irish  Catholics. 

General  Stephen  Moylan,  whom  Washington  ap- 
pointed  first    quarter-master   of   the   revolutionary 


THE  REVOLUTION  445 

army,  was  a  Catholic.  When  our  currency  had  de- 
preciated in  value,  gaunt  famine'  stared  Washing- 
ton's army  in  the  face,  and  discontent,  desertion 
and  mutiny  threatened  to  defeat  the  great  object 
to  be  accomplished,  the  Friendly  Sons  of  St.  Patrick 
most  promptly  and  most  generously  responded  to 
the  bankrupt  government's  appeal,  with  over  half 
a  million  dollars;  while  the  individual  subscription 
of  Thomas  Fitzsimmons,  a  Catholic  merchant  of 
Philadelphia,  was  the  then  vast  sum  of  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars.  It  is  estimated  that  Catholic 
France  spent  sixty  million  dollars  in  our  revolu- 
tion. 

Declaratian  of  Independence.  Not  only  in  the 
field  and  on  the  quarter-deck,  but  also  in  the  coun- 
cil-room did  Catholics  have  worthy  representatives. 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  his  cousin  Daniel  Car- 
roll, a  brother  of  Archbishop  Carroll,  Thomas  Fitz- 
simmons and  Thomas  S.  Lee  were  members  of  the 
Continental  Congress  or  signers  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence. 

Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton.  Among  the  list  of 
patriot  heroes  whose  names  are  attached  to  that 
immortal  document,  none  was  more  distinguished 
than  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  who  in  signing 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  did  not  hesitate 
to  stake  upon  the  issue  more  property  than  all  the 
other  signers  put  together. 

In  his  ''Historical  Sketches  of  Statesmen  Who 
Flourished  in  the  Time  of  George  III,''  Lord 
Brougham  says  of  Carroll: — 

''His  family  was  settled  in  Maryland  ever  since 
the  reign  of  James  II,  and  had  during  that  period 
been  possessed  of  the  same  ample  property, — the 
largest  in  the  union.  It  stood  therefore  at  the  head 
of  the  aristocracy  of  the  country;  was  naturally  in 
alliance  with  the  government;  could  gain  nothing. 


446       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

while  it  risked  everything  by  a  change  of  dynasty; 
and  therefore,  according  to  all  the  rules  and  the 
prejudices  and  the  frailties  which  are  commonly 
found  guiding  men  in  a  crisis  of  affairs,  Charles 
Carroll  might  have  been  expected  to  take  a  part 
against  revolt,  certainly  never  to  join  in  promoting 
it.  Such,  however,  was  not  this  patriotic  person. 
He  was  among  the  foremost  to  sign  the  cele- 
brated Declaration  of  Independence.  All  who  did 
so  were  believed  to  have  devoted  themselves  and 
their  families  to  the  Furies.  As  he  set  his  hand  to 
the  instrument,  the  whisper  ran  round  the  hall  of 
Congress,  *' there  goes  some  millions  of  property!" 
There  being  many  of  the  same  name,  someone  said: 
** Nobody  will  know  what  Carroll  it  is,"  as  no  one 
wrote  more  than  his  name.  Then  one  at  his  elbow 
remarked  to  Carroll:  "You'll  get  clear, — there 
are  several  of  the  name, — they  will  not  know  which 
to  take. "  * '  Not  so  ! "  he  replied ;  and  instantly 
added  his  residence,  ''of  Carrollton." 

Charles  Carroll  and  Mr.  Chase  were  appointed  by- 
Franklin  Commissioners  to  Canada  in  behalf  of 
the  struggling  colonies.  Carroll  died  in  1832. 
Among  his  last  words  were:  ''I  have  lived  to  my 
ninety-sixth  year;  I  have  enjoyed  continued 
health;  I  have  been  blessed  with  great  wealth, 
property  and  most  of  the  good  things  which  the 
world  can  bestow;  public  approbation,  applause: 
but  what  I  now  look  back  on  with  greatest  satisfac- 
tion to  myself  is  that  I  have  practiced  the  duties  of 
my  religion." 

Our  First  Bishop.  From  this  same  fine  family 
came  our  first  bishop  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the 
United  States,  John  Carroll,  Archbishop  of  Balti- 
more. Like  his  illustrious  cousin  and  his  brother, 
Archbishop  Carroll  was  a  patriot.  Franklin  em- 
ployed him   on   a   confidential   mission  to   Canada. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  447 

He  was  a  worthy  forerunner  of  the  patriotic  and 
prudent  body  of  Christian  leaders  who  have  ever 
since  blessed  the  Episcopal  Sees  of  America. 

Washington's  Appreciation.  As  the  revolution 
revealed  the  loyalty  and  sterling  worth  of  the  Cath- 
olic Americans  and  the  self-sacrificing  friendship 
for  the  budding  Republic,  of  their  fellow-religion- 
ists abroad,  men  of  greater  mind  were  grieved  at 
the  religious  persecution  to  which  Catholics  were 
subjected  in  every  colony.  While  commanding 
the  troops  before  Boston,  Washington  checked  the 
New  England  custom  of  burning  the  Pope  in  effigy 
every  5th  of  November,^  and  censured  this  insult 
as  ''ridiculous  and  childish.'' 

Replying  to  an  address  of  congratulation  upon 
his  election  to  the  Presidency,  presented  by  the 
leading  Catholic  clergy  and  laity,  Washington  said: 
'*As  mankind  become  more  liberal,  they  will  be  the 
more  apt  to  allow,  that  all  those  Tvho  conduct  them- 
selves as  worthy  members  of  the  community,  are 
equally  entitled  to  the  protection  of  civil  govern- 
ment. I  hope  ever  to  see  America  the  foremost  na- 
tion in  examples  of  justice  and  liberality.  And  I 
presume  that,  your  fellow-citizens  will  not  forget 
the  patriotic  part  which  you  took  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  their  Revolution  and  the  establishment  of 
their  government;  or  the  important  assistance  they 
received  from  a  nation  in  which  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith  is  professed." 

94.     CATHOLICS    AND     THE    CONSTITUTION. 

On   the   eve   of  the   Revolution   the   Continental 

^This  gruesome  holiday  recalled  the  Gun  Powder  Plot  of  1605. 
Half  a  dozen  Catholics  in  England,  with  Guy  Fawkes*' driven  to  madness 
hy  the  tyrannous  persecution  which  spoiled  them  of  every  right  of  body 
and  soul,  conceived  the  wild  plan  of  destroying  the  authors  of  their 
persecution  by  blowing  up  the  house  of  Parliament.  The  Catholics  as 
a  body  were  in  no  wise  responsible  for  this  wicked  scheme.  Indeed  it 
was  a"  Catholic,  Lord  Monteagle,  who  discovered  the  plot  and  at  once 
exposed  it  to  the  king. 


448       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

Congress  had  protested  to  England  and  declared 
that  they  could  not  conceal  their  astonishment  at 
the  Quebec  Act,  which  recognized  the  right  of  the 
French  Colonies  of  Canada  to  practice  their  Catho- 
lic faith.  At  that  time  nine  out  of  the  thirteen 
colonies  had  religious  test-oaths,  and  the  other  four 
had  laws  discriminating  against  Catholics.  At  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  the  colonial  representatives 
adopted  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  de- 
claring that  ''no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  re- 
quired as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust 
under  the  United  States''  (Art.  VI.  Sec.  3) :  and  soon 
added  the  securing  Amendment:  "Congress  shall 
make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  re- 
ligion or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof." 
(Amendment  I). 

Whence  This  Change  of  Feeling?  The  Revolu- 
tion had  taught  the  lessons  of  sympathy  and  re- 
spect. It  had  revealed  the  worth  of  men  who  pro- 
fessed the  Catholic  faith  and  of  men  who  made 
profession  of  no  faith.  Bigotry  there  still  was ;  and 
the  articles  of  the  Constitution  were  hotly  debated. 
But  broadness  prevailed.  Catholic  France  had 
given  the  struggling  revolutionists  the  ^practical 
friendship  of  men  and  money,  and  was  the  first 
power  to  sign  a  treaty  recognizing  the  new  Repub- 
lic. In  France,  America  had  a  Catholic  God- 
mother. Catholic  Spain  had  joined  with  France, 
opened  her  ports  to  our  privateers;  refused  to  give 
them  up  to  England  as  demanded;  and  crushed 
British  power  on  our  southern  frontier.^  The 
Catholic  princes  of  Germany  had  protested  against 
the  Hessian  soldiers,  all  raised  in  Protestant  states, 
hiring  out  to  the  work  of  English  oppression. 

Catholics  at  home  were  loyal  unto  death.     Cath- 

*  Galveston  is  named  for  Count  Bernardo  de  Galvez,  Spanish  gover- 
nor of  Louisiana,  who  (1770)  besieged  the  English  forces  at  Baton 
Rouge  and  swept  the  Louisiana  waters  of  English  vessels. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  449 

olics  abroad  were  friends  indeed  as  they  were 
friends  in  need.  Could  America  in  1788,  repeat  the 
unhappy  protest  against  religious  liberty  voiced  at 
the  Continental  Congress  of  1774?  Would  she  fol- 
low the  example  of  Massachusetts  and  Virginia  and 
incorporate  into  her  federal  constitution  the  reli- 
gious tests  and  discriminations  that  limited  every 
colony?  Or  would  she  follow  the  example  first  set 
by  the  Catholic  Lord  Baltimore,  and  followed  by 
the  Catholic  Governor  Dongan  and  the  immortal 
Roger  Williams?  There  was  but  one  course.  The 
freedom  of  conscience  that  was  proclaimed  in  the 
solitudes  of  Maryland  in  1634,  and  in  the  wilderness 
of  Rhode  Island  in  1636,  after  a  century  and  a  half 
of  opposition,  became  parf  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States. 

Catholics  may  reflect  with  honorable  pride,  that 
as  their  fellow-religionists  discovered  and  explored 
America,  so  their  Catholic  ancestors  took  a  unique 
part  in  making  religious  liberty  the  law  of  the  land. 
And  it  is  happily  true,  that  while  citizens  of  the 
Catholic  faith  have  since  been  the  object  of  bigotry 
and  fanaticism,  as  by  the  Native  American  and 
Know-Nothing  Parties  -  and  by  the  American  Pro- 
tective Association,  they  have  never  lent  themselves 
to  any  movement  contrary  to  the  tolerant  provision 
of  the  Constitution  J  and  to  the  religious  freedom 
they  themselves  first  proclaimed. 

Magna  Charta.     Our  Constitution,  our  rights,  our 

"Boston  citizens  destroyed  the  Ursuliue  Convent  at  Charleston,  in 
1834.  "Native  Americans"  rioted  at  Philadelphia  in  1844  for  three 
days,  burning  several  churches,  a  house  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  and 
the  homes  of  many  Catholics,  several  of  whom  were  killed.  They  rioted 
in  New  York  the  same  year.  In  1854  Know-Nothing  mobs  destroyed 
churches  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire  and  New  Jersey,  and  killed  a  num- 
ber of  Catholics  at  Louisville.  The  social  persecution  can  be  imagined. 
These  fires  of  bigotry  were  fed  by  such  books  as  the  "Awfijjl  Disclosures 
of  Maria  Monk,"  a  foul,  lying  concoction  of  three  mifiisters,  Revs. 
Brownlee,  Bourne  and  Slocura.  While  the  present  writer  has  seen 
many  such  slanderous  books  written  against  the  Catholic  Church,  he 
has  yet  to  hear  of  a  Catholic  writing  such  a  work  about  others. 


450       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

glory  are  all  summed  up  in  the  words,  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty.  Catholics  had  much  to  do  in 
achieving  our  religious  liberty.  It  may  be  inter- 
esting to  notice  their  part  in  the  creation  of  our 
civil  liberty.  Civil  liberty  may  be  defined,  ''the 
protection,  by  just  law,  of  the  life  and  property  of 
the  citizen,  against  the  arbitrary  actions  of  king  or 
magistrate.''  In  what  does  our  civil  liberty  con- 
sist? First,  That  our  house  is  our  castle;  second. 
That  no  one  can  be  imprisoned  except  by  due  proc- 
ess of  law;  third,  No  taxation  without  representa- 
tion; fourth.  Trial  by  jury;  fifth.  Fixed  courts; 
sixth,  Habeas  Corpus. 

These  six  propositions  contain  the  sum  of  all  we 
mean  by  civil  liberty,  and  constitute  the  basis  of 
our  national  and  state  constitutions.  They  are  all 
substantially  contained  in  the  Magna  Charta  of 
England  from  which  we  derive  our  law.  That 
Magna  Charta  was  created,  maintained  and  fought 
for  by  Catholics,  three  centuries  before  the  Refor- 
mation. It  is  the  immortal  document  wrested  from 
King  John  Lackland  by  the  Catholic  Archbishop 
Stephen  Langdon  and  the  Catholic  Barons  of  Eng- 
land in  the  early  13th  century.  It  may  be  added, 
to  the  glory  of  Christ  and  His  Church,  that  the 
common  law  of  England  is  founded  upon  the  Catho- 
lic Canon  Law,  which  is  the  Church's  application 
of  the  principles  of  the  Gospel  to  the  problems  of 
human  society. 

95.    CATHOLIC  INSTITUTIONS. 

The  development  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the 
United  States  has  kept  pace  with  the  marvelous 
growth  of  the  Republic  itself.  At  the  close  of  the 
Revolution,  a  single  Bishop  and  a  handful  of  priests 
ministered  to  a  small  and  scattered  Catholic  popu- 


CATHOLIC  iX;STlTUT10NS  451 

lation.  Churches  and  charitable  institutions  were 
few  and  humble.  Georgetown  University,  founded 
by  the  Jesuits  in  1789 ;  and  the  Convents  of  the  Vis- 
itation Nuns  at  Washington:  and  of  the  Ursulines 
at  New  Orleans,  founded  1727,  were  about  the  only 
notable  institutions  of  hi-gher  education. 

The  first  decade  of  the  twentieth  century  (1913) 
finds  in  the  United  States  a  Catholic  population  of 
15,015,569,  with  ten  million  more  in  our  colonial 
dependencies.  The  dioceses  that  parcel  off  our  ter- 
ritory from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  are  presided 
over  by  14  archbishops,  and  97  bishops.  Priests  to 
the  number  of  17,491  labor  in  the  parish,  the  school 
and  the  charitable  institution,  on  the  platform,  the 
pulpit  and  the  religious  press.  They  are  seconded 
in  their  work  by  several  thousand  brothers  and 
almost  100,000  sisters  of  charity,  whose  lives  are 
consecrated  to  Christ  and  who  spend  their  talents, 
be  they  one  or  ten,  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
good  of  his  human  children;  as  well  as  by  an  army 
of  men  and  women  of  the  laity. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  enumerate  all  of  our  coun- 
try's centers  of  Catholic  activity.  There  are  13,939 
churches — many  of  them  of  cathedral  proportions 
and  elegance.  There  are  some  6,000  institutions  of 
learning: — including  some  300  universities  and  col- 
leges; over  700  academies  for  the  higher  education 
of  women ;  and  over  5,000  parochial  schools,  edu- 
cating a  million  and  a  half  children.  There  are 
more  than  1,000  institutions  of  charity.  These  min- 
ister to  every  ill  to  which  human  nature  is  heir. 
In  289  orphan  asylums,  47,111  helpless  children  find 
Christian  care.  Besides  the  orphanages,  hospitals 
and  other  asylums  familiar  to  every  city,  there  are 
such  mercies  as  the  Leper  Asylum  of  Louisiana  con- 
ducted for  the  state  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and 
the  New  York  hospital  for  incurable  cancer  patients 


452       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

founded  and  presided  over  by  Sister  Alphonsa, 
known  to  the  world  as  Rose  Hawthorne  Lathrop, 
the  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Hawthorne. 

Wealth  of  the  Church.  The  significance  of  these 
figures  is  more  than  material.  The  Church  in  the 
United  States  is  not  wealthy  in  gold,  though  she  has 
millions  invested  in  her  work.  She  knows  little  of 
endowments.  Practically  all  her  institutions  are 
struggling  with  the  problem,  how  to  attempt  the 
works  which  daily  call  loudly  to  our  charity  and 
which  grow  apace  out  of  all  proportion  to  our 
means  and  equipment.  These  figures  are  but  the 
material  expression  of  millions  of  human  lives  lived 
to  know  and  love  and  serve  God  in  this  world  and 
so  to  be  happy  with  Him  in  the  world  to  come. 

The  wealth  and  worth  of  the  Church  consist  in 
her  power  to  develop  men  and  women  in  the  image 
of  Jesus  Christ.  As  the  channel  of  God's  grace, 
she  has  riches  beyond  estimation.  The  glory  of 
God  and  the  salvation  of  souls  is  the  one  motive 
and  so  the  secret  of  all  the  Church's  endless  activi- 
ties^. For  the  glory  of  God  is  realized  in  the  salva- 
tion of  souls;  and  men  are  in  the  way  of  salvation, 
when,  by  whatever  cord  of  Adam,  they  are  drawn 
out  of  the  quagmire  of  ignorance  and  sin,  into  the 
environment  of  truth  and  love,  where  may  develop 
that  immortal  life  breathed  into  the  lowliest  of  men 
by  the  Creator  in  whose  image  we  all  of  us  are 
made.  The  better  Catholic  a  man  is,  the  better 
citizen  he  will  be,  the  better  man  he  will  be. 

Catholic  Charities.  Some  conception  of  the  prac- 
tical charities  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United 
States  may  be  formed  from  the  statistics  of  the  in- 
stitutions maintained  in  our  many  dioceses,  of  which 
the  following  are  typical : 

New    York: — Orphan    Asylums    9;    Day    Nurseries    17;    In- 
dustrial and  Reform  Schools  36;  Schools  for  Deaf  Mutes 


CATHOLIC  EDUCATION  453 

3;  Parish  Schools  302;  Academics  for  Girls  44;  Colleges 
and  Academies  for  Boys  18;  Children  Under  Catholic 
Care  100,430;  Hospitals  24;  Immigrant  Homes  7;  Homes 
for  Aged  5;  Asylums  for  Blind  2;  Homes  for  Seamen, 
Friendless  Women,  etc.;  Churches  347;  Chapels  196; 
Priests  1002;   Catholic  Population  1,219,920. 

Brooklyn: — Orphan  Asylums  11;  Infant  Asylum  1;  Indus- 
trial School  1;  Parish  Schools  80;  Academies  15;  Col- 
leges 4;  Children  Under  Catholic  Care  78,000;  Hospitals 
6;  Homes  for  Aged  Poor  2;  Home  of  Good  Shepherd  1; 
Churches  198;   Priests  465;   Catholic  Population,  700,000. 

Boston: — Orphan  Asylums  10;  Infant  Asylum  1;  Deaf  Mute 
Home  1;  Industrial  Schools  5;  Parish  Schools  89; 
Academies  9;  Colleges  5;  Children  Under  Catholic  Care 
.59,328;  Hospitals  5;  Homes  8;  Churches  263;  Priests 
676;   Catholic  Population   1,000,000. 

PiiiLADEXPHiA : — Orphan  Asylums  12;  Industrial  Schools  for 
Whites  2,  for  Indian  and  Negro  Children  1 ;  Protectorates 
2;  Houses  for  Homeless  Boys  2;  for  Working  Girls  2; 
Parish  Schools  135;  Academies  for  Young  Ladies  11; 
Colleges  and  Seminaries  for  Young  Men  7;  Children  Un- 
der Catholic  Care  70,000;  Hospitals  5;  Homes  for  Aged 
Poor  3;  For  Widows  1;  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Conferences 
69;  Churches  312;  Priests  614;  Catholic  Population 
604,000. 

Chicago: — Orphan  Asyluma  6;  School  for  Deaf  Mutes  1; 
Boys'  Industrial  Schools  2;  Girls'  Industrial  School  1; 
Infant  Asylums  2;  Home  for  Working  Boys  1;  For  Work- 
ing Girls  3;  Young  People  Under  Catholic  Care  118,000; 
Hospitals  18;  Homes  for  Aged  5;  Parish  Schools  230; 
Colleges  for  Boys  12;  Academies  for  Girls  22;  High 
Schools  11;  Churches  300;  Priests  745;  Catholic  Pop- 
ulation  1,150,000. 

San  Francisco: — Orphan  Asylums  5;  Deaf  Mute  Asylum  1; 
Infant  Asylum  1;  Industrial  Schools  2;  Protectory  for 
Boys  1;  Parish  Schools  42;  Academies  21;  Normal 
School  1 ;  Colleges  9 ;  Children  Under  Catholic  Care 
23,000;  Hospitals  6;  Homes  for  Aged  Poor  4;  Churches 
184;    Priests  352;    Catholic  Population   251,000. 

96.    CATHOLIC  EDUCATION. 

No   Catholic  institution   in   the  United   States  is 
more  significant  of  the  Christian  faith  and  power  of 


454       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

sacrifice  of  the  Catholic  people,  than  their  system  of 
education. 

Besides  more  than  1,000  colleges  and  academies 
for  higher  education,  the  Church  in  the  United 
States  maintains  over  5,000  primary  and  grammar 
schools.  In  the  year  1913  there  were  1,593,316  chil- 
dren being  educated  in  the  Catholic  institutions  in 
our  country.  Of  these,  1,333,786  attend  our  paro- 
chial schools.  Estimating  from  the  average  cost 
per  child  in  the  public  schools  of  the  country,  Cath- 
olic schools  mean  a  financial  burden  of  much  more 
than  $35,000,000  each  year.  The  only  endowment 
possessed  by  our  schools,  are  the  faith  and  gener- 
osity of  the  parents  who  build  and  maintain  them, 
and  of  the  sisters,  brothers  and  priests  who  give 
themselves  to  teach  in  the  schools  without  further 
material  recompense  than  their  scanty  living. 

Education  must  train  the  mind  to  knowledge, 
the  hands  to  skill  and  the  body  to  strength*,  but  it 
must  not  stop  there.  It  must  train  the  will  to  vir- 
tue. Character  is  more  than  talent  or  wealth.  The 
wise  man  is  he  who  makes  all  his  actions  work  to- 
gether for  his  eternal  good.  Right  morals  can  be 
founded  only  on  i*eligious  principles.  The  Chris- 
tian faith  is  an  integral  part  of  truth  and  the 
mightiest  source  of  virtue.  In  training  children 
for  life,  it  may  not  be  ignored  as  though  it  did  not 
exist,  or  at  any  rate  was  not  a  vital  factor  in  life. 

These  are  briefly  the  principles  on  which  our 
Catholic  schools  are  founded.  The  Catholic  Church 
is  not  opposed  to  popular  education.  The  immeas- 
urable sacrifices  which  the  Catholic  people  make  for 
education  attest  our  realization  of  its  value.  In  sec- 
ular branches  our  schools  are  not  behind  the  best. 
We  pay  our  share  toward  the  support  of  the  public 
schools  even  while  we  maintain  our  Christian 
schools.    "We  trust  that  the  day  will  come  when  qui 


CATHOLIC  EDUCATION  455 

country  will  solve  the  problem  of  offering  to  its 
citizens  in  its  public  schools,  an  education  that  will 
not  fall  short  of  our  needs.  Meantime  we  must 
keep  up  our  select  schools.  The  charity  of  the  men 
and  women  who  devote  themselves  to  our  schools 
and  make  their  maintenance  possible,  is  more  than 
a  financial  one.  It  is  the  truest  charity  to  teach 
others  the  truth  and  to  train  them  to  the  virtues, 
which  shall  profit  them  for  eternal  life. 

National  Problem.  Leading  non-Catholic  think- 
ers are  more  and  more  endorsing  our  Catholic  edu- 
cational principles  as  the  only  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem, how  to  care  for  the  children  of  the  country; 
and  admitting  that  the  public  school  system,  which 
ignores  the  religious  and  therefore  the  moral  train- 
ing of  the  child,  is,  in  so  far,  a  failure.  Woodrow 
Wilson,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  Wm.  Taft,  Wm.  J. 
Bryan,  Vice  President  Marshall,  College  Presidents 
Eliot  of  Harvard,  Hadley  of  Yale,  Harper  of  Chi- 
cago, Rev.  Washington  Gladden,  Gunsaulus,  Rabbi 
Hirsch,  Editor  Bok,  Stanley  Hall  and  many  others 
might  be  quoted  on  this  subject. 

Hon.  Amasa  Thornton,  New  York,  wrote  in  the 
North  Amencan  EevicWf  January,  1898:  ''I  am  a 
Protestant  of  the  firmest  kind.  .  .  .  The  Catholic 
Church  has  insisted  that  it  is  its  duty  to  educate  its 
children  in  such  a  way  as  to  fix  religious  truths  in 
the  youthful  mind.  For  this  it  has  been  assailed  by 
the  non-Catholic  population;  and  Catholics  have 
even  been  charged  with  being  enemies  of  the  people 
and  of  the  flag.  Any  careful  observer  in  the  city  of 
Is^ew  York  can  see  that  the  only  people,  as  a  class, 
who  are  teaching  the  children  in  the  way  that  will 
secure  the  future  of  the  best  civilization  are  the 
Catholics ;  and,  although  a  Protestant  of  the  firmest 
kind,  I  believe  the  time  has  come  to  recognize  this 
fact,  and  for  us  to  lay  aside  prejudices  and  patrioti- 


456       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

cally  meet  this  question.  The  children  and  youth  of 
to-day  must  be  given  such  instruction  in  the  truths 
of  the  Bible  and  Christian  precepts  as  will  prevent 
them  in  maturer  years  from  swinging  from  their 
moorings  and  being  swept  into  the  maelstrom  of 
social  and  religious  depravity,  which  threatens  to 
engulf  the  religion  of  the  future.  Such  instruction 
can  only  be  given  successfully  by  an  almost  entire 
change  of  policy  and  practice  on  th^  question  of 
religious  teaching  in  the  public  schools,  and  the  en- 
couragement of  private  schools  in  which  sound  re- 
ligious teaching  is  given." 

The  late  President  Harper,  of  Chicago  University, 
says: — "It  is  difficult  to  foretell  the  outcome  of 
another  fifty  years  of-  our  educational  system — a 
system  which  trains  the  mind,  but,  for  the  most  part 
leaves  the  moral  side  untouched;  no  religion,  no 
ethics,  merely  a  sharpening  of  the  intellect.  The 
Roman  Catholics  meet  this  difficulty ;  our  Protestant 
churches  utterly  ignore  it.  .  .  ." 

97.    THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  AND 
SOCIALISM. 

Through  her  every  activity  by  which  men  are 
taught  the  truth  and  lives  are  trained  to  virtue,  the 
Church  strengthens  and  defends  the  proper  insti- 
tutions of  the  country.  As  occasion  demands  she 
finds  a  practical  way  of  opposing  her  eternal  prin- 
ciples to  the  evils  that  threaten  the  welfare  of  the 
individual  or  the  nation.  She  opposes  the  teachings 
of  Christ  to  the  evil  of  divorce.  At  enormous  cost 
she  gives  the  country  the  example  of  Christian  edu- 
cation. Because  she  is  truly  interested  in  the  well- 
being  of  society  and  the  condition  of  the  laboring 
man,  she  opposes  the  erroneous  principles  of  So- 
cialism. 


SOCIALISM  457 

Socialism.  Socialism  is  more  than  a  general  ef- 
fort for  social  improvements.  It  is  more  than  a 
politico-economical  theory  advocating  the  placing 
of  all  productive  goods  in  the  hands  of  the  state. 
It  is  a  philosophy  of  life ;  the  expression  of  a  world 
view,  as  atheism  and  materialism,  forcing  its  way 
to  popular  acceptance  under  the  guise  of  a  method 
of  social  reform.  Its  philosophy  is  materialistic 
monism.  It  reads  the  past  and  the  future  solely 
through  materialistic  determinism.  Its  principles 
work  out  logically  from  their  materialistic  premises 
to  the  destruction  of  our  present  institutions  of 
family,  education,  property,  government,  liberty, 
and  religion.  It  is  not  a  reform  but  a  revolution. 
This  is  apparent  from  the  platforms  of  its  political 
propaganda  and  the  authoritative  statements  of 
its  leading  representatives. 

Revolutionary.  Socialists  differ  from  all  other 
reformers  in  that  they  despair  of  our  present  indus- 
trial and  political  systems.  Nothing  short  of  a  rev- 
olutionary change  in  our  social  forms,  they  hold, 
can  bring  about  the  desired  result.  Says  the 
Chicago  (1904)  platform:  ''Into  the  midst  of  the 
strain  and  crisis  of  civilization,  the  Socialist  move- 
ment comes  as  the  only  saving  or  conservative  force. 
If  the  world  is  to  be  saved  from  chaos,  from  uni- 
versal disorder  and  misery,  it  must  be  by  the  union 
of  the  workers  of  all  nations  in  the  Socialist  move- 
ment. The  Socialist  party  comes  with  the  only 
proposition  or  programme  for  intelligently  and  de- 
liberately organizing  the  nation  for  the  common 
good  of  all  its  citizens.  It  is  the  first  time  that  the 
mind  of  man  has  been  directed  to  the  conscious 
organization  of  society." 

There  are  inequalities,  no  doubt,  that  cry  out  for 
adjustment ;  but  they  can  be  adjusted  without  over- 
turning the  civilization  that  has  been  so  many  tens 


458       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

of  centuries  in  the  making.  But  according  to  a 
statement  of  E.  V.  Debs,  in  the  Social-Democratic 
Herald  of  Milwaukee,  January  14,  1905,  the  Socialist 
Party  "is  a  party  of  revolution,  not  of  reform;  it 
stands  for  the  revolutionary  idea  of  collective  own- 
ership of  the  means  of  wealth  production  and  the 
overthrow  of  the  wage  system;  no  reform  of  the 
present  order  of  society,  however  radical  or  sweep- 
ing it  may  be  claimed  to  be,  will  satisfy  its  class-con- 
scious supporters.'^ 

This  despair  that  would  tear  up  the  very  founda- 
tions of  social  life  was  met  by  Charles  J.  Bonaparte 
in  an  address  at  the  Alleghany  Chautauqua,  Cumber- 
land, Md.,  on  August  12,  1906.  "American  public 
opinion  should  recognize  the  utter  emptiness,  the  in- 
herent folly  of  all  ready-made,  furnished-while-you- 
wait  schemes  for  the  social  regeneration  of  man- 
kind. Civilized  society,  as  it  exists  to-day,  if  it  be 
nothing  more,  is  the  outcome  of  all  the  strivings  for 
justice  and  happiness  of  the  human  race  during 
thousands  of  years.'' 

Materialistic.  The  materialistic  conception  of 
history,  according  to  Charles  H.  Kerr  ("What  to 
Read  on  Socialism,"  p.  1),  is  "the  central  thing  in 
Socialism.  It  is  to  history  and  social  science  what 
the  law  of  gravitation  is  to  physics."  Cathrein 
(Socialism,  pp.  120  and  121)  presents  this  meaty 
analysis:  "By  their  materialistic  conception  Marx 
and  Engels  intended  to  establish  an  entirely  new 
method  of  historical  research  and  interpretation. 
Their  whole  theory  may  be  reduced  to  the  following 
four  simple  statements : 

"i.  There  is  no  dualism  of  spirit  and  matter. 

"2.  In  the  social  relations  and  institutions  of  man 
there  is  nothing  immutable ;  everything  is  subject  to 
a  constant  process  of  change. 

"3.  In  this  constant  change  production  and  the 


SOCIALISM  459 

exchange  of  products  are  the  determining  and  de- 
cisive factors. 

^'4.  Social  development  is  effected  by  the  forma- 
tion of  economic  contrasts  and  class  struggles." 

Thus  the  first  postulate  of  the  materialistic  con- 
ception of  history,  makes  man  a  mere  animal  by 
declaring  that  nothing  exists  save  matter.  From  it 
Engel  proceeds  to  say:  ** Nowadays  in  our  evolu- 
tionary conception  of  the  universe,  there  is  abso- 
lutely no  room  for  either  a  Creator  of  a  Ruler." 

Anti-ReHgious.  Logically  socialism  must  be  op- 
posed to  religion  which  consumes  energy  dealing 
with  God  and  the  soul, — things  which  its  material 
philosophy  says  do  not  exist.  Its  leaders  do  not 
hesitate  to  express  this  opposition  in  their  writings. 
Its  followers,  as  may  be  easily  observed,  are  com- 
monly weaned  from  their  old-time  faith  to  fanatical 
infidelity. 

Says  the  New  York  Volkszeitung,  the  leading  Ger- 
man organ  of  the  Socialist  party:  "Socialism  is 
not  logical  unless  it  denies  the  existence  of  God." 
Liebknecht  said:  "It  is  our  duty  as  Socialists  to 
root  out  the  faith  in  God  with  all  our  zeal,  nor  is  any 
one  worthy  the  name  who  does  not  consecrate  him- 
self to  the  spread  of  atheism."  Shall  was  applauded 
in  Stuttgart  when  he  said:  "We  open  war  upon 
God,  because  he  is  the  greatest  evil  in  the  world." 
Marx's  Kapital  (vol.  i.,  p.  19,)  teaches:  "The  abo- 
lition of  religion,  as  the  deceptive  happiness  of  the 
people,  is  a  necessary  condition  of  their  true  happi- 
ness." 

Bondage.  The  Chicago  platform  promises  that 
from  Socialism  will  come  greater  liberty.  To  this 
Bishop  J.  L.  Spalding  replies:  "Socialism,  if  prac- 
tical at  all,  can  succeed  only  by  controlling  and  reg- 
ulating all  the  affairs  of  life,  by  turning  the  whole 
nation  into  an  industrial  army,  where  each  one  is 


460       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

under  orders  to  keep  the  peace  and  do  the  duties 
arssigned  him."  The  learned  bishop  has  wisely  in- 
serted the  proviso:  *'if  practical  at  all";  for  ev- 
eryone must  know  that  an  army  on  the  democratic 
principle  is  a  sheer  impossibility.  Americans  love 
freedom  too  keenly  to  fall  back  upon  social  arrange- 
ments which  run  counter  to  its  exercise,  and  from 
which  our  forefathers  emerged  through  ages  of  effort 
to  establish  personal  freedom.  Socialism  may  dis- 
guise its  character  as  the  enemy  of  liberty  while  at 
a  distance,  and  viewed  in  its  abstract  principles. 
But  seen  close  at  hand,  it  reveals  its  ugliness,  and  its 
antipathy  to  what  Americans  have  always  most 
valued. 

Labor  Leaders.  While  Socialist  leaders  use  every 
trick  to  get  the  labor  unions  to  commit  themselves 
to  the  Socialist  movement,  the  most  able  representa- 
tives of  those  unions  repudiate  Socialism  as  the  en- 
emy of  the  workman's  true  interests. 

Samuel  Gompers,  president  of  the  American  Fed- 
eration of  Labor,  made  a  notable  speech  at  the 
Boston  convention  of  the  Federation  in  1903,  w^hen 
the  question  of  endorsing  Socialism  was  under  dis- 
cussion. He  declared  that  the  Socialists  within  the 
ranks  were  the  greatest  foes  of  the  trade-union 
movement.  *' Though  they  believe  themselves  to  be 
trade-unionists,"  he  said,  ^'they  are  at  heart  and 
logically  the  antagonists  of  our  movement.  .  .  . 
We  recognize  the  poverty,  we  know  the  sweatshop, 
we  can  play  on  ayery  string  of  the  harp  and  touch 
the  tenderest  chords  of  sympathy ;  but  while  we  rec- 
ognize the  evil  and  would  apply  the  remedy,  our  So- 
cialist friends  would  look  forward  to  the  promised 
land  and  wait  for  the  sweet  by-and-by."  Turning 
to  the  Socialist  contingent,  he  said:  **I  have  stud- 
ied your  philosophy,  read  your  economics,  and  not 
the  meanest  of  them,  studied  your  standard  works, 


SOCIALISM  461 

both  in  English  and  German;  have  not  only  read 
but  studied  them.  I  have  heard  your  orators 
and  watched  the  vrork  of  your  movement  the  world 
over.  I  have  kept  close  watch  on  your  doctrines  for 
thirty  years ;  have  been  closely  associated  with  many 
of  you  and  know  how  you  think  and  what  you  pro- 
pose. I  know,  too,  what  you  have  up  your  sleeve. 
And  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  I  am  entirely  at  vari- 
ance with  your  philosophy.  .  .  .  Economically  you 
are  unsound,  socially  you  are  wrong,  industrially 
you  are  an  impossibility. ' ' 

The  conversion  to  the  Catholic  Church  of  Mr.  John 
Mitchell,  the  sincere  and  intelligent  labor-leader,  re- 
veals his  conviction  that  the  Catholic  principles  of 
justice  and  charity,  of  faith  and  prudence,  point  the 
road  to  social  amelioration,  rather  than  the  despair, 
confiscation  and  destruction  of  Socialism. 

Oracles.  Official  Bulletin  of  the  Socialist  Party, 
January,  1909,  directs  that  for  study  classes  a  little 
library  of  fifteen  authors  be  used.  These  works  re- 
veal the  destructive  character  of  Socialism.  At 
least  half  of  these  touch  upon  religion  and  the  fam- 
ily, and  all  that  do,  antagonize  the  Christian  faith 
and  the  Christian  concept  of  morality,  or  the  Chris- 
tian family.     They  are : 

Socialism  in  Theory  and  Practice. — Hill  quit. 

Social  Revolution. — Kautsky. 

Economic  Foundations  of  Society. — Loria. 

Socialism,  Utopian  and  Scientific. — Engels. 

Capital. — Marx. 

The  People's  Marx. — ^I>eville. 

Socialism. — Spargo. 

Woman. — Bebel. 

Church's  Opposition.  In  his  popular  work, 
*' Questions  of  Socialists  and  their  Answers,''  Rev.  W. 
S.  Kress  sums  up  the  reason  of  the  opposition  of  the 
Church  to  Socialism: 


462       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

''If  Socialism  were  a  purely  economic  movement, 
giving  definite  promise  that  no  natural  or  divine 
right  should  be  invaded,  including  the  right  of  par- 
ents to  educate  their  own  children,  the  right  of  every 
individual  to  worship  God  according  to  conscience's 
dictate,  together  with  all  that  such  right  implies: 
clergy,  churches,  freedom  of  ecclesiastical  education 
and  government,  and  freedom  of  religious  associa- 
tion, the  sacredness  and  permanence  of  the  marriage 
relation ;  and  full  compensation  for  all  property  that 
is  to  be  confiscated;  then  no  objection  could  or  would 
be  raised  by  the  Catholic  clergy  on  religious  grounds. 
They  might  still  oppose  Socialism  as  an  impractical 
economic  measure ;  but  they  would  have  no  right  to 
use.  the  pulpit  for  this  purpose  nor  to  forbid  their 
people  under  penalty  of  spiritual  censures  from  ar- 
raying themselves  with  the  Socialist  party.'' 

The  learned  Professor  of  Sociology  at  the  Catholic 
University  of  America,  Dr.  Wm.  J.  Kerby,  thus  states 
the  position  of  the  Church  as  one  based  not  on  expe- 
diency but  eternal  principles: 

''There  is  very  much  in  the  facts,  tendencies  and 
principles  of  the  social  order  of  to-day  which  the 
Catholic  Church  must  repudiate  and  even  condemn. 
In  spite  of  all  in  modern  life  that  is  against  her,  in 
spite  of  governments  and  principles  and  tendencies, 
the  Church  appears  as  the  defender  of  this  social  or- 
der, stands  against  Socialism,  the  enemy  of  this  or- 
der, and  demands  sanction  for  law,  respect  for  au- 
thority and  protection  for  institutions,  without 
thought  of  resentment  or  motive  of  gain,  without 
commission  from  those  she  would  save  or  reward 
from  those  she  would  serve.  Uninfluenced  by  what 
is  undeniably  attractive  in  Socialism  and  undeterred 
by  what  is  unmistakably  against  her  in  the  present 
order,  she  is  animated  by  a  conviction  that  transcends 
both  and  looks  to  the  ethical  and  spiritual  beyond. ' ' 


CATHOLIC  PATRIOTISM  463 

98.     PATRIOTS  OF  PEACE  AND  WAR. 

The  Catholic  soldiers  of  Revolution  days  had  wor- 
thy successors  in  our  later  wars.  General  Shields, 
the  hero  of  two  wars,  and  the  United  States  senator 
from  three  states,  Illinois,  Minnesota  and  Missouri, 
carried  through  life  the  scars  of  severe  wounds  re- 
ceived in  both  the  Mexican  war  and  the  Rebel- 
lion. 

General  Thos.  Meagher,  the  dashing  commander 
of  the  fearless  Irish  Brigade,  and  General  Mulligan, 
the  hero  of  Lexington,  whose  dying  words  on  the 
field  of  battle  were:  **Lay  me  down  and  save  the 
flag," — are  famed  in  both  song  and  story. 

General  Ewing,  brother-in-law  of  Sherman;  Gen- 
eral Newton,  Chief  of  Engineers,  who  later  destroyed 
the  "Hell  Gate"  obstructions  in  New  York  harbor; 
General  Henry  Hunt,  Chief  of  Artillery  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac ;  Generals  Stone,  McMahon,  Rucker, 
Vincent,  Admirals  Sands  and  Ammen,  are  among 
the  Catholic  leaders  of  the  Civil  War.  There  were 
Catholic  men  in  every  grade  of  Army  and  Navy; 
more  than  our  share,  if  anything,  in  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  field  and  deck;  and  no  one  will  say  but  that 
they  did  their  duty  well. 

General  Sheridan  ^s  ride  through  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  to  lead  his  demoralized  army  to  the  victory 
of  Cedar  Creek,  is  sung  by  the  poet-  as  it  was  praised 
by  Lincoln  and  Grant. 

General  Rosecrans,  the  brother  of  the  first  Bishop 
of  Columbus,  Ohio,  and  the  last  survivor  of  the  fa- 
mous quartet.  Grant,  Sheridan,  Sherman,  and  '*01d 
Rosey,"  was  ever  mentioned  with  love  and  venera- 
tion by  the  soldiers  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland. 

General  Sherman,  though  not  a  Catholic,  testifies 
how  much  he  owed  to  the  patriotic  encouragement 
of  his  heroic  Catholic  wife.     His  son,  Rev.  Father 


464       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

Thomas  Sherman,  S.  J.,  is  well  known  as  an  army 
chaplain  and  a  brilliant  missionary. 

The  work  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  during  the  war 
earned  them  the  beautiful  title,  the  Angels  of  the 
Battlefield. 

Archbishop  Hughes.  As  in  the  War  of  Independ- 
ence the  Most  Rev.  John  Carroll,  our  first  Bishop, 
went  on  a  political  mission,  appointed  by  Congress, 
to  secure  the  neutrality  of  Canada,  so  in  the  Civil 
War,  the  Most  Rev.  John  Hughes,  Archbishop  of 
New  York,  with  Bishop  Domenec  of  Pittsburg,  per- 
formed confidential  missions  to  European  powers: 
and  it  is  certain  that  these  valiant  priests  and  patri- 
ots secured  the  neutrality  of  France  and  Spain.  At 
the  death  of  Archbishop  Hughes,  President  Lincoln, 
through  his  Secretary  of  State,  Wm.  H.  Seward,  is- 
sued a  letter  of  sympathy  and  appreciation  of  this 
rare  prelate.  Secretary  Seward  writes  that  the 
President '  *  earnestly  desired  to  find  some  practicable 
mode  of  manifesting  the  sorrow  with  which  he  re- 
ceived intelligence  of  that  distinguished  prelate's 
demise,  and  his  sympathy  with  his  countrymen  and 
with  the  religious  communion  over  which  the  de- 
ceased prelate  presided,  in  their  great  bereavement. 
I  have,  therefore,  on  his  behalf,  to  request  that  you 
will  make  known  in  such  manner  as  will  seem  to 
you  most  appropriate,  that  having  formed  the  Arch- 
bishop's acquaintance  in  the  earliest  days  of  our 
country's  present  troubles,  his  counsel  and  advice 
were  gladly  sought  and  continually  received  by  the 
government  on  those  points  which  his  position  ena- 
bled him  better  than  others  to  consider.  At  a  time 
of  deep  interest  to  the  country,  the  Archbishop  as- 
sociated with  others,  went  abroad  and  did  the  nation 
a  service  there,  with  all  the  loyalty,  fidelity,  and 
practical  wisdom  which,  on  so  many  other  occasions, 
illustrated  his  great  ability  for  administration." 


CATHOLIC  PATRIOTISM  465 

Patriots  of  Peace.  From  Chief  Justice  Roger  B. 
Taney,  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
Gen.  Shields,  in  the  Senate,  and  Charles  J.  Bonaparte 
in  the  Cabinet,  Catholics  have  acquitted  themselves 
worthily  in  every  peaceful  walk  of  life.  But  a  sign 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  is  that  'Hhe  poor  have  the 
Gospel  preached  to  them";  and  most  of  her  myriad 
children  are  humble  heroes  whose  names  are  known 
to  God  alone.  The  mother  spending  her  life  to  raise 
honest  children  for  the  country's  population,  is  its 
benefactor ;  and  in  this  divine  work  Catholic  mothers 
have  done  their  duty.  The  father  who  gives  him- 
self in  useful  toil  to  support  his  family,  and  in  so 
doing  develops  the  resources  of  the  country — tills 
the  soil,  works  the  mines,  builds  railroads,  canals, 
and  sewers — is  a  double  benefactor.  It  will  not  be 
denied  that  Catholic  men  in  millions  have  done  these 
necessary  works. 

Temperance.  A  most  noble  exponent  of  the 
Church's  care  for  her  children  and  effort  to  remove 
them  from  the  occasion  of  evil,  was  Father  Theobald 
Matthew,  the  Apostle  of  Temperance,  whom  Henry 
Clay  introduced  in  the  Senate  as  one  of  the  greatest 
benefactors  of  men.  To  the  evil  arising  from  the 
abuse  of  intoxicating  liquor,  the  Church  opposes  the 
virtue  of  temperance.  She  teaches  that  drunken- 
ness is  a  deadly  sin,  and  that  the  drunkard  is  morally 
bound  to  avoid  the  proximate  occasion  of  his  fall. 
The  Bishops  of  the  country  assembled  at  the  third 
Council  of  Baltimore,  urged  any  Catholics  who 
might  be  in  the  saloon  business,  to  find  some  more 
honorable  means  of  livelihood.  The  Knights  of  Co- 
lumbus ^  and  other  Catholic  societies  bar  from  mem- 

^The  Knights  of  Columbus  and  other  Catholic  societies  are  not  secret 
societies  in  the  sense  of  their  purpose  and  methods  being  kept  secret 
from  the  proper  authorities  of  Church  and  State,  The  Church  forbids 
her  children  to  join  certain  secret  societies, — the  Masons,  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  Odd  Fellows.  These  societies,  by  having  a  religious  ritual, 
make  themselves  practically  a  religious  sect.     The  Catholic  Ohurcb,  like 


466       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

bership  anyone  engaged  in  the  sale  of  liquor.  It  is 
a  common  custom  for  pastors  to  give  the  youths  of 
their  parishes  the  total  abstinence  pledge  on  the 
day  of  the  first  communion  or  confirmation :  and  the 
Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Union  counts  its  members 
in  every  state  of  the  country. 

Our  New  Citizens.  What  is  the  Church  doing  for 
the  immigrants  that  to-day  flock  to  our  shores  ?  She 
trains  them  in  faith  and  character,  in  duty,  responsi- 
bility, knowledge,  respect  for  authority,  and  every 
virtue.  And  she  is  thereby  a  blessing  to  the  Repub- 
lic and  to  its  new  citizens.  Years  ago  the  Irish  and 
Germans  came  to  America.  They  were  largely  Cath- 
olic, and  whether  in  city  or  country,  proved  a  most 
valuable  and  industrious  addition  to  our  population. 
Their  children  have  taken  their  place  with  the  best 
citizens  of  the  land.  To-day  Italians,  Poles,  Bohe- 
mians and  other  Slav  peoples  form  an  immense  pro- 
portion of  our  immigration.  They  also  are  largely 
Catholic.  While  they  are  often  poor  and  lowly,  they 
are  generally  honest  and  capable.  With  time  and 
encouragement  they  will  enrich  our  country  with 
their  intelligence,  strength,  industry,  agricultural 
skill,  their  love  of  music,  their  artistic  temperament, 
and  their  other  talents.  The  Church  in  America 
meets  these  immigrants  as  her  children.  In  the 
Catholic  Church  they  find  an  influence  that  is  thor- 
oughly American  and  yet  no  stranger  to  them.  The 
Church  is  able  thus  to  help  the  Republic  to  assim- 
ilate this  ''Migration  of  Nations." 

In  the  diocese  of  New  York,  the  Church  shows 
her  Catholicity  by  including  among  her  members 
and  conducting  services,  societies  and  institutions 
for  men  and  women  speaking  some   22   languages 

many  other  denominations,  has  found  from  experience  that,  whatever 
the  cause,  when  men  belong  to  certain  secret  societies,  they  are  inclined 
to  drop  away  from  the  church.  If  there  must  be  a  choice,  duty  says 
to  choose  the  divine  rather  than  the  human  institution. 


CATHOLIC  PATRIOTISM  467 

and  repiesenting  every  continent  and  color.  Speak- 
ing of  this  matter  at  the  centenary  celebration  of 
his  diocese,  His  Eminence  Cardinal  John  Farley, 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  said: 

"The  problems  of  a  growing  city  have  been  our 
problems.  We  have  taken  up  the  burdeit  of  caring 
for  the  immigrants  that  have  flocked  by  the  millions 
to  this  New  World  port.  Many  we  have  taken  into 
our  fold.  We  have  helped  to  adapt  and  weld  them 
into  the  body  politic. 

'*We  have  taken  these  children  of  many  climes 
that  have  come  to  our  shores,  kept  near  these  stran- 
gers, helped  them  in  their  struggles  to  get  estab- 
lished and  make  homes  in  a  new  country,  built 
churches  and  schools  for  them  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  crowded  quarters,  so  that  the  most  congested 
parts  of  our  great  city  were  all  provided  for  as  well 
as  the  most  select  quarters  of  the  metropolis. 

"It  mattered  not  what  tongues  they  spoke — Rus- 
sian, Polish,  Greek  or  the  other  continental  languages 
of  Europe  and  the  Orient.  Nor  did  we  disown  them 
if  they  had  minor  differences  of  discipline.  The 
Church  gathered'  them  all  to  her  bosom  under  the 
proud  name  of  Catholicism,  and  looked  after  them 
all. 

"This  has  been  our  policy  in  the  past — so  will  it 
be  in  the  future,  not  to  live  for  ourselves  alone,  but 
for  the  good  of  the  city,  state  and  nation.  In  so 
doing,  all  questions  that  affect  the  whole  people 
alTect  us."  The  work  done  by  the  Church  in  the 
national  metropolis,  is  performed,  according  to  cir- 
cumstances, in  every  city  of  the  country. 

Church  and  State.  Between  the  Church  and  State 
in  America  there  has  existed  a  happy  and  helpful 
relation.  And  that  is  right.  Though  politically  sep- 
arated, they  are  morally  united.  Each  does  its  own 
work  in  its  independent  sphere,  and  in  the  doing 


468       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

helps  the  other.  They  are  wrong  who  assert  that 
there  should  be  no  relation  between  Church  and 
State.  Their  error  is  probably  a  matter  of  thought-- 
lessness  rather  than  of  reasoned  conviction.  The 
citizen  must  be  a  moral  man  if  the  Republic  is  to 
abide.  P(flitics  must  be  honest  and  unselfish.  Re- 
ligion must  include  the  highest  patriotism.  The 
school  of  faith  and  morals  and  virtuous  lives  need 
not  be  absolutely  divorced  from  the  hall  of  justice 
and  law  and  civic  administration.  Between  Church 
and  State  there  is,  of  course,  the  relation  of  recogni- 
tion and  just  treatment  which  exists  between  the 
State  and  any  proper  corporation  of  its  citizens. 
But  there  is  and  must  be,  besides,  a  deeper  and 
broader  relation  of  moral  support  and  mutual  re- 
spect, which  may  not  be  expressed  in  concordats 
or  even  be  very  consciously  felt,  but  which  is  none 
the  less  true  and  real  and  touches  the  very  founda- 
tions of  society. 

''Fifteen  millions  of  Catholics,"  writes  Cardinal 
Gibbons,  ''live  their  lives  in  our  land  with  undis- 
turbed belief  in  the  perfect  harni^ony  existing  be- 
tween their  religion  and  their  duties  as  American 
citizens.  It  never  occurs  to  their  minds  to  question 
the  truth  of  a  belief  which  all  their  experience 
confirms.  Love  of  religion  and  love  of  country 
burn  together  in  their  hearts.  They  love  their 
Church  as  the  divine  spiritual  society  set  up  by 
Jesus  Christ,  through  which  they  are  brought  into 
a  closer  communion  with  God,  learn  His  revealed 
truth  and  His  holy  law,  receive  the  help  they  need 
to  lead  Christian  lives  and  are  inspired  with  the 
hope  of  eternal  happiness.  They  love  their  country 
with  the  spontaneous  and  ardent  love  of  all  patriots, 
because  it  is  their  country  and  the  source  to  them 
of  untold  blessings.  They  prefer  its  form  of  govern 
ment  before  any  other.     They  admire  the  iristitu- 


RESUME  OF  PART  FOUR  469 

tioiis  and  the  spirit  of  its  laws.  They  accept  the 
Constitution  without  reserve,  with  no  desire,  as  Cath- 
olics, to  see  it  changed  in  any  feature.  They  can 
with  a  clear  conscience  swear  to  uphold  it." 

99.    RESUmIi  of  PART  FOUR.-^THE  CHURCH 
IN  HISTORY. 

As  the  student  acquires  a  perspective  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  past  twenty  centuries,  he  realizes  the 
truth  of  the  eloquent  words  in  which  the  illustrious 
statesman,  William  E.  Gladstone,  wrote  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church: 

*'She  has  marched  for  fifteen  hundred  years, 
(since  the  days  of  Constantine),  at  the  head  of  civ- 
ilization, and  has  harnessed  to  her  chariot  as  the 
horses  of  a  triumphal  car,  the  chief  intellectual  and 
material  forces  of  the  world :  her  art,  the  art  of  the 
world;  her  genius,  the  genius  of  the. world;  her 
greatness,  glory,  grandeur  and  majesty,  have  been 
almost,  though  not  absolutely  all  that  in  these  re- 
spects the  world  has  had  to  boast  of.  Her  children 
are  more  numerous  than  all  the  children  of  the  sects 
combined :  she  is  every  day  enlarging  the  boundaries 
of  her  vast  empire:  her  altars  are  raised  in  every 
clime  and  her  missionaries  are  to  be  found  wherever 
there  are  men  to  be  taught  the  evangel  of  immortal- 
ity, and  souls  to  be  saved.  And  this  wondrous 
Church,  which  is  as  old  as  Christianity,  and  as  uni- 
vei^al  as  mankind,  is  to-day,  after  its  twenty  cen- 
turies of  age,  as  fresh  and  vigorous  and  as  fruitful, 
as  on  the  day  when  the  Pentecostal  fires  were  show- 
ered upon  the  earth." 

The  Past.  Macaulay  in  his  essay  on  Ranke,  pays 
eloquent  tribute  to  the  Church  and  sums  up  its  his- 
tory of  1900  years : 


470       CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S. 

*^  There  is  not,  and  there  never  was  on  this  earth, 
a  work  of  human  policy  so  well  deserving  of  exami- 
nation as  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  The  history 
of  that  Church  joins  together  the  two  great  ages  of 
human  civilization.  No  other  institution  is  left 
standing  which  carries  the  mind  back  to  the  times 
when  the  smoke  of  sacrifice  rose  from  the  Pantheon, 
and  when  cameleopards  and  tigers  bounded  in  the 
Flavian  amphitheater.  The  proudest  royal  houses 
are  but  of  yesterday  when  compared  with  the  line 
of  supreme  Pontiffs.  That  line  we  trace  back  in  an 
unbroken  series  from  the  Pope  who  crowned  Na- 
poleon in  the  nineteenth  century,  to  the  Pope  who 
crowned  Pepin  in  the  eighth;  and  far  beyond  the 
time  of  Pepin  the  august  dynasty  extends  till  it  is 
lost  in  the  twilight  of  fable.  The  Republic  of  Ven- 
ice came  next  in  antiquity.  But  the  Republic  of 
Venice  was  modern  when  compared  to  the  Papacy; 
and  the  Republic  of  Venice  is  gone,  and  the  Papacy 
remains.  The  Papacy  remains,  not  in  decay,  not  a 
mere  antique,  but  full  of  life  and  youthful  vigor. 
The  Catholic  Church  is  still  sending  forth  to  the  far- 
thest ends  of  the  world,  missionaries  as  zealous  as 
those  who  landed  in  Kent  with  Augustine,  and  still 
confronting  hostile  kings  with  the  same  spirit  with 
which  she  confronted  Attila.  The  number  of  her 
children  is  greater  than  in  any  former  age. 

''Her  acquisitions  in  the  new  world  have  more 
than  compensated  for  what  she  has  lost  in  the  old. 
Her  spiritual  ascendency  extends  over  the  vast  coun- 
tries which  lie  between  the  plains  of  the  Missouri 
and  Cape  Horn.  Nor  do.  we  see  any  sign  which  indi- 
cates that  the  term  of  her  long  dominion  is  approach- 
ing. She  saw  the  commencement  of  all  the  govern- 
ments and  of  all  the  ecclesiastical  establishments 
that  now  exist  in  the  world;  and  we  feel  no  assur- 
ance that  she  is  not  destined  to  see  the  end  of  them 


RESUME  OP  PART  FOUR  471 

all.  She  was  great  and  respected  before  the  Saxon 
had  set  foot  on  Britain,  before  the  Frank  had  passed 
the  Rhine,  when  Grecian  eloquence  still  flourished 
at  Antioch,  when  idols  were  still  worshiped  in  the 
temples  of  Mecca.  And  she  may  still  exist  in  undi- 
minished vigor  when  some  traveler  from  New  Zea- 
land shall,  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  solitude,  take  his 
stand  on  a  broken  arch  of  London  Bridge  to  sketch 
the  ruins  of  St.  Paul's.'* 

The  Future.  With  the  opening  of  the  twentieth 
century  the  chair  of  authority  in  His  Church,  given 
by  Christ  to  St.  Peter,  is  occupied  by  Pope  Pius  X. 
The  work  of  the  Church  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past, 
is  indicated  by  the  keynote  of  the  encyclical  with 
which  Pius  X  inaugurated  his  pontificate: 

''Since  it  has  been  pleasing  to  the  Divine  Will  to 
raise  our  lowliness  to  such  sublimity  of  power,  we 
take  courage  in  Him  who  strengthens  us,  and  setting 
ourselves  to  work,  relying  on  the  power  of  God,  we 
proclaim  that  we  have  no  other  programme  in  the 
Supreme  Pontificate,  but  that  *  of  restoring  all  things 
in  Christ,'  (Eph.  1,  10),  so  that  'Christ  may  be  all 
and  in  all'  (Col.  3,  2).  Some  will  certainly  be  found 
who,  measuring  Divine  things  by  human  standards, 
will  seek  to  discover  secret  aims  of  ours,  distorting 
them  to  an  earthly  purpose  and  to  political  designs. 
To  eliminate  all  vain  delusions  for  such,  we  say  to 
them  with  emphasis  that  we  do  not  wish  to  be,  and 
with  the  Divine  assistance  never  shall  be  aught  be- 
fore human  society  but  the  minister  of  God,  of  whose 
authority  we  are  the  depository.  The  interests  of 
God  shall  be  our  interests,  and  for  these  we  are  re- 
solved to  spend  all  our  strength  and  our  very  life. 
Hence  should  anyone  ask  us  for  a  symbol  as  the 
expression  of  our  will,  we  will  give  this  and  no 
other : 

"  'To  Renew  All  Things  in  Christ.'  " 


47a         CHART  OF  HISTORICAL  DATA   . 


100.     CHART  OP  HISTORICAL  DATA. 

b. — born:        d. — died:        f. — founder,      founded:        c. — about: 
B.— Battle:     C— Council:     H.— Heresy:     P.— Pope. 

ANCIENT  TIMES. 
Before  Christ.  Adam  ?000.  Abraham  c.  2000.  Joseph  in 
Egypt  1750.  Moses  c.  1500.  David  d.  1015.  Homer  c.  1000. 
Solomon  d,  975.  Rome  f.  753.  Pericles  d.  429.  Socrates 
d.  399.  Plato  d.  347.  Alexander  d.  323.  Aristotle  d.  322. 
Demosthenes  d.  322.  Septuagint  transl.  285.  Hannibal  d. 
183.  Jerusalem  taken  by  Romans  63.  Julius  Caesar  d.  41. 
Cicero  d.  43.  Augustus  Emp.  31.  Vergil  d.  30.  Cleopatra  d. 
30.     Horace  d.  8. 

JESUS  CHRIST  BORN. 

After  Christ,  ist  Century.  P.  Pilate  Gov.  of  Judea  26. 
Church  founded.  Crucifixion.  Resurrection.  Peter  and  Paul 
d.  67.  Nero  d.  68.  Jerusalem  destroyed  by  Titus  70.  Pom- 
peii  destroyed    79.     Popes.     St.  Peter — Clement  I. 

2nd  Century.  Christians  Persecuted.  Catacombs.  Igna- 
tius d.  115.  Irenaeus  b.  130.  Missionaries  sent  to  Britain 
175.     Gnostic  H.     Popes  Clem. — Zephyrinus. 

3d  Century.  Tertullian  d.  240.  Origen  d.  254.  Cyprian 
d.  258.     Manichean  H.     Popes  Zeph. — Marcellinus. 

4th  Century.  Emp.  Constantine  a  Christian  312.  Edict 
of  Milan  313.  C.  Nice  325.  Chrysostom  b.  347.  Julian 
Apostate  d.  363.  Athanasius  d.  373.  St.  Ambrose  d.  397. 
Arian  and  Donatist  H.     Popes  Marc. — Asastasius  I. 

MIDDLE  AGES. 

5th  Century.  Alaric  sacks  Rome  410.  Roman  forces  aban- 
don Britain  418.  Jerome  d.  420.  ^,  Augustine  of  Hippo  d.  430. 
Angles  and  Saxons  invade  Britain  449.  B .  Catalaunian 
Fields  451.  Pope  Leo  I  and  Attila  452.  Vandals  455.  Fall 
of  W.  Roman  Empire  476.  St.  Patrick  d.  492.  Ireland  con- 
verted.    Popes  Anas, — Symmachus. 

6th  Century.  Clovis  d.  511.  Boethius  d.  525.  St.  Bene- 
dict f.  527.  Augustine  Ap.  of  England,  596.  Popes  Sym. — 
Gregory  the  Great. 

7th  Century.  Rise  of  Mohammedanism  622.  Arabs  take 
Jerusalem  638.  Caedmon  c.  664.  Conversion  of  England,  Ba- 
varia, Belgium,   Switzerland.     Popes  Greg. — Sergius  I. 

8th  Century.  Saracens  invade  Spain  711.  B.  of  Tours. 
732.  Ven.  Bede  d.  735.  Pepin  and  Temporal  Power.  Chas. 
Martel  d.  741.  Boniface  Ap.  of  Germany  d.  755.  Iconoclast 
H.     Popes  Serg. — ^Leo  III.  i 


CHART  OP  HISTORICAL  DATA  473 

gth  Century.  Charlemagne  Emp.  800.  Alcuin  d.  804.  Al- 
fred the  Great  b.  849.  Scotus  Erigena  d.  883.  Cyril  and 
Methodius.     Greek  Schism.     Popes  Leo — Benedict  IV. 

loth  Century.  Cliigny  f.  910.  Norse,  Hun  and  Saracen 
invasions.     St.   Dunstan  d.  988.     Popes  Ben. — Sylvester  II. 

nth  Century.  Anselm  b.  1033.  St.  Edward  King  d.  1066. 
Turks  take  Palestine  1073.  Canossa  1077.  William  Con- 
queror d.  1087.  Conversion  of  Norway,  Iceland,  Denmark  and 
Russia.     First  Crusade   1095.     Popes.     Sylvester — Paschal  II. 

I2th  Century.  St.  Bernard  d.  1153.  Th.  a  Becket  d.  1170. 
England  invaded  Ireland  1171.  Barbarossa  d.  1190.  Richard 
the  Lionl>earted  d.  1199.     Popes  Pasc. — Innocent  III. 

13th  Century.  Magna  Charta  1215.  St.  Domenic  d.  1221. 
St.  Francis  d.  1226.  St.  Louis  King  d.  1270.  St.  Th.  Aquinas 
d.  1274.  Dante  b.  1265.  Giotto  b.  1276.  Universities  and 
Cathedrals  f.     Popes  Innoc. — Boniface  VIII. 

14th  Century.  St.  Catherine  of  Siena  d.  1380.  Wycliffe 
d.  1384.  Fra  Angelico  b.  1387.  Avignon  1305-77.  Popes 
Boniface  VIII-IX. 

15th  Century.  Joa  o:'  Arc  d.  14T^1  Columbus  b.  1436. 
Printing  Press  1438.  rurks  tiike  Constantinople  1453.  Th. 
a  Kempis  d.  1471.  Spanish  Inquisition  f.  1481.  America 
disc.  1492.     Popes,  Bonif. — Alex.  VI. 

MODERN  TIMES. 

i6th  Century.  St.  Theresa  b.  1515.  Card.  Ximenes  (Poly- 
glot Bible)  d.  1517.  Rise  of  Protestantism  1520.  Zwingli  d. 
1531.  Jesuits  f.  1534.  Royal  Supremacy  in  England  1534. 
Martin  Luther  d.  1546.  Henry  VIII.  d.  1547.  Charles  V. 
abd.  1555.  B.  Lepanto  1571.  Calvin  d.  1564.  Knox  d.  1572. 
Pope  Gregory  ref.  Calendar  1582.  Popes  Alex.  VI,  Clement 
VIII. 

17th  Century.  Q.  Elizabeth  d.  1603.  King  James'  Bible 
1611.  Galileo  d.  1642.  Cromwell  d.  1658.  Fr.  Marquette  on 
Mississippi  1673.     Popes  Clem. — Innocent  XII. 

i8th  Century.  Washington  b.  1732.  Gibbon  b.  1737. 
Declaration  of  Independence  1776.  Voltaire  1778.  French 
Revolution  1789.  Wesley  f.  Methodism  d.  1791.  Popes  Innoc. 
—Pius  VII. 

19th  Century.  Napoleon  d.  1821.  Catholic  Emancipation 
in  England  1829.  Book  of  Mormon  1830.  Victoria  Queen 
1838.  Oxford  Movement  1840.  Daniel  O'Connell  d.  1847. 
Spiritism  1848.  Know-Nothing  Party  1854.  Alex.  Campbell 
f.  Disciples  d.  1866.  Christian  Science  1866.  Vatican  C. 
1870.  Kulturkampf  1871.  Cardinal  Newman  d.  18^  Bis- 
marck 1898.     Pope  Pius  VII— Leo  XIII. 

20th  Century.    Leo  XII  d.  1903.    Pope  Pius  X. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Absolution,  Form  of,  234 

Abstinence,  Total,  4G6 

Acts    of    Faith,    Hope,    Love, 
Contrition,  218 

Act  of  Supremacy,  401 

Adam's  Fall,   165 

Agnus  Dei,  205 

Alaric,  328 

Alban,  St.,  333 

Alcuin,  356 

America,  Bigotry  in,  439,  443 
Catholics  and  Constitution, 

447 
Catholics    and    Revolution, 
444 

'    Catholic  Church  in,  436 
Catholic  Institutions,  450 
Catholic   Missionaries,   379, 

437 
Catholic   Patriots.   463 
Church  and  State,  467 
Immigrants    Catholic,    466 
Religious  Liberty,  438,  449 

Americans  first,  436 

Anglican  Church,  402,  428 
Orders,  252 

Anglo-Saxons,   334 

Anti-Christian    Writings,   323 

Anti-Popes,    342 

A.  P.  A.,  449 

Apocryphal    Literature,    128 

Apologists,  155 

Apostles,  Call  of,  91 
Christ's   teachers,   91 
List  of,  67 

Messengers  of  Faith,  91 
Scenes  of  Labours  of,  317 

Apostolic   Succession,  409 


477 


Archbishops,  or  Metropolitan, 
79 
of  Middle  Ages,  369 
Atheist,   17 
Atonement,    171 
Attila  and  Pope  Leo  I,  329 
Attributes  of  God,  26 
Attrition,  233 
Augustine,   St.,  Ap.  England, 

334 
Avignon,   Popes  at,  391 

Babylon,   Rome  called,   70 
Babylonish  Captivity,  391 
Baltimore,    Lord,   438 
Bans,  267 
Baptism,   173,  181 

of  Blood,  176 

Ceremonies  of,   179 

Children   who   die  without, 
178 

Conditional,   180 

of  Desire,  176 

How  given,   179 

of   Infants,    177 

John's,    175 

Three  Modes  of,   179 

Saints'  names  in,  180 

Necessity  of,   175 

Sponsors,  180 

Vows,  180 
Baptisteries,  370 
Barry,  Commodore  John,  444 
Bartholomew,   St.,   Day,   439 
Beatific  Vision,  49,  283 
Beatitudes,  297 
Beaton,  Cardinal,  404 
Bede,  Venerable,  356 


478 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Bellermine,   Cardinal,    154 
Benedict,    St.,    354 
Benedictines,  258 
Bereans,  the,   119 
Bible,  Authorized  Version  of, 
131,  410 

Abuse  of,   123 

God  the  Author,    125 

Canon  of,    123 

Catholics  use,   133 

Church  and,  113 

Church  loves,  132 

Commission,    135 

Days  of  Creation,  137 

Deutero-canonical        books, 
124 

Division  of  Books,  127 

Evolution,    139 

Human  authors  of,   126 

Illuminated,    128 

Indulgence  for  reading,  134 

Inspiration,   125 

Key  to,  122 

a   Literature,    109 

in  Ancient  ^Times,  128 

in  Modern   Times,   132 

in  Middle  Ages,  128 

New  Testament,   112 

Old  Testament,   111 

Polyglot  of  Ximenes,  130 

Church,   Preserver   of,    127, 
128 

Preserved  by  Monks,  356 

Early  Printed,    130 

Relation     to    Church,     112, 
116 

"Search     the      Scriptures," 
118 

Synoptics,  114 

Versions  of,  131 

Douay  Version,    131 

St.  James'  Version,  134 

the  Vulgate,    131 
Birth,  Spiritual,   173 
Bishop,  First  American,  337 
Bishops  of  the   Church,  78 


Blessed  Sacrament,  see  Eu- 
charist 

Boleyn,  Anne,  401 

Boniface,  Ap.  of  Germans,  336 

Boniface  Vlli,  392 

Bora,  Catherine,  409 

Breviary  or  Divine  Office,  135 

Briggs,  Chas.  Aug.,  117,  118. 
124,    158,   291 

Calendar,       Gregorian,       147, 

414,  423 
Candles,  212 
Candlemas,  212 
Canon,  Bible,  123 
Canon   Law,   78 
Canon  of   Scripture,   123 
Cardinals,  College  of,  79 
Carrol,   Archbishop,   445,   446 

Charles,  445 
Cartier,  Jacques,  383 
Catacombs,   322 
Cathedral    at   Rome,    St.   Pe- 
ter's, 372 
Catholic,   name,  430 

Explorers,  43G 
Catholicism,  Converts  to,  431 
Cathedrals,   Gothic,  369 
Cause,  the  First,  23 
Celibacy,  253 
Cephas,  59 
Ceremonies,  209 
Chalcedon,   Council  of,   331 
Chalice,    187 

Champlain,    Samuel    de,    384 
Character,    indelible,    171 
Charity   of   Early   Christiana, 
318 

Institutions  of,  451 
Charlemagne,    327,    339,    356 
Charles  Borromeo,  St.,  412 
Chile,   Clergy  slandered,  382 
Chrism,  Holy,   182 
Church  and  Bible,   109 

loves  Bible,   132 

Civilizer  of  Nations,  33 


GENERAL  INDEX 


479 


Supreme  Court  of,  08 

guided  by  Holy  Gliost,  93 

Head  of  the,  57 

Hierarchy,  77 

Infallible    Guide,    94 

Infallibility  of,  95 

the  Kingdom  of  GTod,  53 

Marks  of,  88 

Militant,   300 

Organization,  78 

persecuted,  320 

chief  precepts  of,  222 

Relation   of  Bible  to,    110 

at  Rome,  318 

No    Salvation   outside   the, 
176 

Silence  in,  200 

a  Society,  53 

as  a   Society,  53,  83      * 

Spread  of,  318,  319 

and  State  in  Middle  Ages, 
340,    341 

and  State  in  America,  467, 
468 

States  of,  345 

Suffering,  300 

Supreme  Court  of,  98 

Christ's   Teacher,  84 

Teaching,  92 

Triumphant,  296 

and   Modern   Times,    377 

Work    Threefold,    84 
Churching  of  Women,  181 
Christ,  Brethren  of,  302 

Disciples'  Testimony  of,  38 

and  His  Enemies,  40 

the   God-man,   48 

Incarnation  of,  48 

Invisible   Head   of   Church, 
68 

and    Messianic    Prophecies, 
48 

Threefold  Office,   160 

and  Popes,  75 

High  Priest,  160 


Christ,    Redemption    of,    167 
Resurrection   of,   43-46 

Triumphant,  48 
Circumcision,    178 
Clovis,    King   of   Franks,   336 
Collect,  202 

Colonial   Intolerance,   439 
Colonists  Catholic,  438 
Colosseum,    314 
Columba,  St.,  332 
Columbus,    Christopher,    151, 

353,    367 
Commandments,  Ten,  320 
Communion,   Easter,   199 

Effects  of,  199 

Received  Fasting,   199 

First,  199 

under  one  Form,  200 

Preparation  for,   199 
Confession,  defined,  231 

Effects  of,  235 

in  Early  Church,  239 

Fruits   of,   230 

How  to  Go  to,  234 

Instituted  by  Christ,  227 

Ministry   of  Reconciliation, 
227 

Money  for,  238 

Necessity  of,  229 

Objections   answered,   236 

Sacrament   of    Pardon,    226 

Spiritual   Physician,   229 

Seal  of,  237,  241 
Confessional,    234 
Confirmation,   182-184 

Ceremonies  of,    182 

Gifts  and  Fruits  of,  184 
Confiteor,  202 
Conossa,  342 

Conscience,    Examination    of, 
'      231 

and  God,  25 

and  Immortality,  8 
Constantine,     Conversion     of, 

324 
Constantinople,  325 


480 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Contrition  defined.  231 

Qualities  of,  232 
Conversion  of  Nations,  330 
Converts,  431 
Copernicus,  147,  36G 
Councils  of  Church,  107 

Ecumenical  or  General,  107 

List  of  General,  107 
Court  Roman,  104 
Cranmer,  Thos.,  401 
Creation,  141 

Days  of,  137 
Credo,  202 
Creeds,  88 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  427 

Thos.,  400 
Cross,  True,  325 
Crucifix,  214 
Crusades,  349,  352 
Curia,  Roman,  104 
Cyril  and  Methodius,  337 

D'Aubigne,  415 

Dante,  361 

Dark  Ages,  330^  358 

Darwin,  22 

Darwinism,  139 

David,  St.,  of  Wales,  333 

Decalogue,  220 

Decretals,  False,  153 

Definitions,  Dogmatic,  101 

Denifle,  405 

Deutero-Canonical  Books,  124 

Development  of  Doctrine,  99 

Dies  Irae,  361 

Dilemma    of    Unbelievers,    41 

Discoverers,  Catholic,  380 

Dispensations,  267 

Divine  Office,  135 

Virtues,  84 
Divorce,  269 

Cause  and  Cure,  272 

Statistics,  271 
Doctors  of  the  Church,  152 
Doctrine,  Development  of,  99 
Dogma,  88 


Dogmas,    How    Defined,    100, 

101 
Domes,  Italian,  370 
Donation  of  Pepin,  346 
Dongan,  Gov.,  443 
Drogheda,  427 


Easter  Duty,   199 

Ecclesiastical  Writers,  153 
Year,  211 

Ecumenical  Council,  107 

Education,   Catholic,  453 

Emmaus,  188 

Emperors,  Roman,  316 

Empire,  Holy  Roman,  339 

England,  Conversion  of,  332 
Reformation  in,  400 

Erasmus,  399,  419 

"Escaped  Nuns,"  239 

Eternal  City,  72 

Eternity,  281 

Eucharist,  Benediction,  200 
Breaking  of  Bread,   188 
Covenant  of  New  Law,  194, 

195 
Eflfects  of,  199 
Faith  of  Apostles,  192 
Forty  Hours'  Devotion,  200 
Instituted  by  Christ,  192 
Mass  and  Cross,  196 
Names  of,  196 
Christ's  Presence,  187 
Promised  by   Christ,   189 
Rejected  by  Jews,  191 
Sacrament,  198 
Paul's  Teaching,  189 
John's  Teaching,  190 
Viaticum,  196 

Evolution,   139 

Ex-Cathedra,  102 
Excommunication,  242 
Ex  opere  operato,  169 
Explorers,  Catholic,  380 
"Ex-priests,"  239 
Extreme  Unction,  275 


GENERAL  INDEX 


481 


Faculties,    Priestly,    228 
Faith  Determines  Actions,  88 

Defined,  86 

St.  James'  Definition  of,  90 

Paul's  Description  of,  85 

Divine  and  Human,  86,  95 

Broadens  Man,  89 

Messengers  of,  91 

Rule  of,  116 

Protestant  Rule  of,  117 

Uses  of  Word,  87 

and  Works,  90 
Fall  of  Man,  164 
False  Decretals,   153 
Farley,  Cardinal,  467 
Farthing,  last,  291 
Fathers    of    the    Church,   Au- 
thority of,  153 

Editions   of,    154 

Idea  of,  152 

List  of,  155 
Fawkes,  Guy,  447 
Fichte,  21 
Fire  of  Hell,  289 
Flowers,  Religious  Use  of,  212 
Forty  Hours'  Devotion,  200 
Fra  Angelico,  375 
Francis  of  Assisi,  St.,  263 
Francis  de  Sales,  St.,  412 
Franks,    Conversion    of    the, 

336 
Frederick  the  Great,  398 
Friars    Mendicant,    258 
Friday  Abstinence,  212 

Galileo,  106,   147 
Gates  of  Hell,  62 
Genesis,    110 
Genseric,  329 
Genuflection,  200 
Georgetown  University,  451 
Germany,   Conversion  of,  336 
Gibbon,  the  Historian,  347 
Gibbons,  Cardinal,  468 
Gladstone,  Wm.  E.,  469 
Gloria  in  Excelsis  Deo.  202 


God,  Attributes  of,  26 

the  First  Cause,  24 

Conscience  and,   25 

our  Goal,  15 

Man,  48 

the  Master-Mind,  24 

Personality  of,  28 
Gods,  Pagan,  311 
God-parents,  180 
Goethe,    305,   424 
Gothic  Art,  369 
Grace,  Actual,  170 

Channels  of,    171 

HabitiMil,  or  Sanctifying,  171 

Sacramental,  171 

State  of,    171 

Uses  of   Word,    169-170 
Granada,  Fall  of,  350 
Greek  in  Liturgy,  207 
Green,   Historian,   402-416 
Gregory  I,  the  Great,  330 

XIII,   147,  414 
Gregorian  Calendar,  147 
Guizot,  415 
Gun  Powder  Plot,  447 
Gustavus  Vasa,  398 
Gutenburg,   336 

Haeckel,  141 

Hallam,  406,  414,  418,  421 
He    Who    is,    23 
Headship  of  Church,  Christ's 
68 

St.  Peter's,  58 
Heaven,  283 
Hierarchv  of  Church,  77 

in  U.  S.,  79 

of  World,  79 
St.  Helena,  325 
Hell,  2184 

Mentioned    in    Creed — note, 
217 
Honrv  IV  and   Gregory  VII, 
341 

VIII,  400 
Hildebrand,  342 


482 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Historical  Chart,  472 

Holy  Eucharist,  185-209 

Holy  Ghost  is  God,  30 

Holy  Grail,  360 

Holy  Roman  Empire,  339 

Holy  Water,  212 

Host,   196 

Hughes,  Archbishop,  464 

Huguenots,  411,  422,  439 

Humanists,   420 

von  Hummelauer,  138 

Huxley,  22 

Idealism,  Kant's,  20 
Ignatius  Loyala,  412 
Imitation  of  Christ,  364 
Immaculate  Conception,  302 
Immigrants,   466 
Immortality  of  the  Soul,  7 
Impeccability    not    Infallibil- 
ity, 102 
Incarnation  of  Christ,  48 
Incense,  213 

Index    of    Prohibited    Books, 
105 

Congregation  of,  105 
Indulgences,  243,  249,  338 

Benefits  of,  248 

Biblical,  243 

Conditions  of,  243 

Defined,  243 

Development  of,  245 

Misrepresented,  247 

Plenary  anij  Partial,  246 

Reformation  and,  247 
Infallibility,   95 

Definition  of,  99 

Errors  about,  102 

Not  Impeccability,  102 

of  Pope,  97 

Secured  by  Christ,  96 

Sphere  of,   102 

Vatican  Council,  101 
Ingersoll,  Robert,  18 
Inquisition,  Spanish,  350 
Inspiration,  125 


Inspired  Books,  123 
Institutions,  Catholic,  451 
Intolerance,  Colonial,  439 
Introit,  202 

Investiture,  Privilege  ofp  342 
Ireland,  Conversion  of,  331 
Isadore  of  Seville,  154 
Islam,  349 

Jannsen,  405 

Jerome,  St.,  154 

Jesuits,    258 

Jesuit  Relations,  385 

Jesus  Christ,  Divinity  of,  33- 
52 

John  XXI,  364 

Jubilee,  Year  of,  note,  249 

Judgment,   General   and   Par- 
ticular, 282 
Private,  117-120 

Julian  the  Apostate,  325 

Justification,    171 

Kant,  Immanuel,  19 
Kelvin,  Lord,  22 
Keys  of  the  Kingdom,  62 
Kingdom  of  God,  53 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,  53,  62 
Knabenbauer,   140 
Knights  of  Columbus,  465 
Know  Nothing  Party,  449 
Knox,  John,  404,  405 
Koran,  351 
Kyrie,  Eleison,  202 

Lamp  of  Sanctuary,  199 

Langton,  Abp.  Stephan,  365 

Las  Casas,  381 

Lathrop,  Rose  Hawthorne,  452 

Latin  in  Liturgy,  207 

Lead  Kindly  Light,  432 

Leo  I  and  Attila,  329 

Leo  III  and  Charlemagne,  339 

Leo  XIII,  367,  431 

Lepanto,  352 

Leper  Asylum  in  U.  S.,  451 


GENERAL  INDEX 


483 


Liberty,  Religious,  41C,  438 
List    of    Catholic    Scientists, 
146 

General  Councils,  107 

Orders  and  Founders,  264 

Popes,  80 

Universities,   302 
Literature,  Elizabethan,  420 
Liturgy,  Latin  and  Greek,  207 

of  Mass,  201 

Meaning  of  Word,  201 
Lodge,  Sir  Oliver,  22,  143 
Logos,  30 

Lost,  VVliy  Men  are,  101) 
Luther,   Character  of,  404 

Corrupted   Bible,   410 

Writings  of,  420 

Reformation,  389,  398 

Magna  Charta,  365,  449 

Magnificat,   304 

Manna,  190 

Manning,  Cardinal,  428,  432 

Maria  Monk,  449 

Marks  of  Church,  88 

Marriage  Bans,  267 

Dispensations,  267 

and  Divorce,  269 

Impediments,   267 

Indissoluble,  269 

Mixed,  267 

Sacrament,  265 
Mary  B.  V.,  Assumption,  303 

Canticle  of,  304 

Greatness  of,  301 

Immaculate  Oonception,  302 

Mother  of  God,  301 

Our  Model,  302 

Queen  of  Heaven,  304 
Mary  Tudor,  401,  404 
Maryland  Colony,  438 
Mass  of  Catechumens,  202 

Instituted  by  Chvist,  195 

Liturgy  of,  201-207 

Low,  High,  202 

Relation  to  Cross,   196 

Requiem,  202 


Mass,  Pontificial,  202 

See   Eucharist,   Communion 
Materialism,  2 
Matter   and  Spirit,   12 
Mathew,  Father,  465 
Medals,  214 
Melanchthon,  399,  400 
Melchisedech,   198 
Methodism,  428 
Metropolitan,   79 
Middle  Ages,  339,  360,  361 
Migne,    154 

Migration  of  Nations,  327 
Milan,  Cathedral  of,  371 

Edict  of,  325 
Miracles,   142 
Miracle  Plays,  133 
Missions,  Catholic,  379 
Mitchell,  John,  461 
Mahomet,  349,  351 
Monasteries,  354,  355 
Monks  of   Middle   Ages,   355. 

356 
Monte  Cassino,  354 
Moors  in  Spain,  350 
More,  Sir  Thos.,  402,  420 
Moslem,  349 

Xapoleon  on  Christ,  37 
Nations,  Conversion  of,  320 
Natural,  Meaning  of,  163 
Newman,   Cardinal,    121,    155, 

206,  432,  428 
Nice,   Council   of,   33 
November,  Fifth  of,  447 
Nuns,  258 

Offertory  of  iMass'  202 
Orders,  Holy,  250,  253 

Major  and  Minor,  252 

Religious,  257,  412 

Vows  of,  261 
Original  Sin,   165 
Orphan  Asylums,  258 
Orthodox  Greeks,  338 
Oxford  Movement,  428 


484 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Paine,  Thomas,  18 
Pange,  Lingua,  36 
Pantheism,  29 
Paraclete,  93 
Papacy,  See  Popes 
Paschal  Candle,  212 

Lamb,  197 
Pasteur,  Louis,  22,   149 
Paten,  187 
Patrick,  St.,  331 
Patrimony  of  St.  Peter,  346 
Patrology,    154 
Paul,  St.,  at  Rome,  68 
Penance,  see  Confession 

in  Early  Church,  242 
Perfection,  Life  of,  260 
Pence,  Peter's,  335 
Pepin,  346 

Persecution,  320,  323 
Personality  of  God,  28 
Peter,  St.,  Authority  of,  62 

Brethren,  Entrusted  to,  63 

Church  of,  at  Rome,  373 

Great  Commission,  60 

Martyred  in  Rome,  67,  68 

Most  Mentioned,  66 

Name,  59 

and  Paul,  68 

Pastor  of  Church,  64 

Patrimony  of,  346 

Pence,  335 

First  Pope,  59 

Primacy,  60,  65,  66 

Visible  Head  of  Church,  58 

Years  of,  68 
Peter  tlie  Hermit,  352 
Philip  of  Hesse,  Bigamy,  399 

Neri,  St.,  412 
Photius,   154 
Pictures,    Use    of    Religious, 

210 
Pius  X,  Pope,  471 
Polygamy,   269 
Polytheism,  311 
Popes,   Chief   Bishop,   78 

and  Christ,  75 


Popes,  Election  of,  79 

Established  by  Christ,  59 

Father,  64 

Infallibility  of,  97 

Name,  61 

Never  More  than  One,  393 

List  of,  80 

Prisoner  of  Vatican,  347 

Temporal  Power,  345 

Unworthy,  103 

Usurpers  of  Office,  342 
Popes,  Anti-,  342 
Prayers,  215,  217,  218 

for  Dead,  see  Purgatory 
Precepts  of  Church,  222 
Priests,  called  Father,  252 

Celibates,  253 

Christ's  Ministers,  250 

Office  of,  252 

Sacrament  of,  250 

Support,  203 

Successors  of  Apostles,  251 

How  Transmitted,  251 
Printing  Invented,  366 
Protestantism,    see    Reforma- 
tion 

Essential     Character,     429, 
430 
Purgatory,  288 
Puritanism,  426 

Redemption,  1618 
Reductions,  Jesuit,  382 
Reformation  and  Art,  422 
and  Civil  Liberty,  415 
and  Culture,  41« 
Counter,  407,  411 
Did  not  Reform,  424 
Effects,  425 
Goethe,  on,  424 
and  Literature,  406,  419 
and  Nationalism,  390 
Popes  of  Period,  413 
Princes  Spread,  396,  402 
and  Progress,  423 
Rationalism  and,  439 


GENERAL  INDEX 


485 


Reformation,    Reaction    from, 
406 
and  Religious  Liberty,  416 
Saints  of  Period,  412 
Shakespeare  and,  420 
and  Trent,  414 

Reformers,  Character  of,  404 

Relics,  299 

Renaissance,   359 

Renan,  Ernest,  426  ^ 

Requiem,  202 

Resurrection,  43,  46 

Revelation,  31,  126 

Roman  Court,  104 

Roman  Empire,  310,  317,  329 

Rome  Called  Babylon,  321 
Church  at,  318 
Capital  of  Church,  75 
Court  of  Appeals,  97 
Fall   of    Empire,    317,   321, 

329 
Languages  of,  310 
Pagan,  310,  317 
Saracens  in,  351 

Rosary,  218 

Rule  of  Faith,  116 
Protestant,  117 

Sabbath,  185,  186 
Sacraments,  160 

Channels  of  Grace,  161,  171 

of  Dead,  171 

Defined,  162 

ex  opere  opera  to,  169 

of  living,  171 

Material  Sign,  161 

Seven,  160 
Sacramentals,  214 
Sacrifice    of  New    Law,    194- 

198 
Sagas  Norse,  436 
Saints  Canonized,  206 

Communion  of,  296 

Honor  due  to,  298 

Feast  Days  of,  297 

Prayers  of,  300 

Relation  to  God,  299 


Saints,  Relics  of,  299 
Salvation  Outside  Church,  176 

Man's  Part  in,  169 

Will  of  God,  168 
Sanctification,  Grace  of,  164 
Scandanavia  Converted,  337 
Scapulars,  214 
Scarlet  Woman,  321 
Schism,  Western,  392 
Schools,  Monastic,  356« 

Parochial,  454 
Science  and  Religion,  136-151 
Scientists,  Catholic,  146 
Scotland,    Conversion   of,    332 

Reformation   in.  404 
Scriptorium,  129,  356 
Scriptures,  see  Bible 
Scruples,  241 

"Search   the  Scriptures,'*  118 
Secret  Societies,  465 
Sects,  425 
Shamrock,  332 
Sign  of  Cross,  214 
Sin,  Act  and  State,  166 

Capital  Sins,  222 

Consequences  of,  225 

Defined,  221 

Against  Holy  Ghost,  228 

Mortal  and  Venial,  223 

Occasion  of,  232 

Original,  165 

Pardon  of,  227 

see  Confession 
Sisters  of  Charity,  258,  263 
Slavs,  Conversion  of,  337 
Slavery,  314 
Socialism,   456 

Sam.  Gompers  on,  460 
Sorbonne,  362 
Soul,  7-13 

Spanish  Inquisition,  350 
Speer,  Rev.  Dr.  Robt.,  382 
Spencer,  Herbert,  19,  21 
Stabat  Mater,  361 
Statistics  of  Religion,  433 
Statues,  Religious  Use  of,  210 


486 


GENERAL  INDEX 


SuflFragan  Bishops,  29 
Sunday,  122,  185,  325 
Superantural,    163 

Life,  49,  171 
Support   of   Religion    (note), 
203 

Tabernacle,   195 

Temperance,  465 

Temporal  Power  of  Popes,  345 

Tertullian,  STS 

Tetzel,  John,  388 

Testament,  Old,  New,  111,  112 

Thomas  a  Kempis,  St.,  364 

of  Aquin,  364 
Tradition,  120,  121 
Transubstantiation,  192 
Trent,  Council  of,  409,  411 
Trinity,  29 

Uniats,  Greek  and  Slav,  338, 

438 
United  States,  Church  in,  436 


Unity  of  the  Church,  55 
Universities,  362 
Unknowable,  Spencer's,  19 

Vatican  Library,  367,  423 
Vestments,  213 
Viaticum,  196 
Virtues,  Cardinal,  222 

Divine,  84,  222 
Vows,  180,  261 
Vulgate,  131 

Washington,  Geo.,  to  Catho- 
lics, 447 

Westphalia,  Treaty  of,  387 

Winfred    (Boniface),  336 

Wolsey,  Cardinal,  400 

Women,  Religious  Orders  of, 
258 

Works  of  Mercy,  259 

Ximines,  Cardinal,  130,  381 


Press  of 

A .  B.  Dewet  Printing  and 

Stationary  Co.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


U.C.BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


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